Introducing a New Field of Research on Adverse and Positive Adult Experiences

Background and Purpose: Given widespread academic and public interest in adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), it is surprising that a similar framework for adverse adult experiences (AAEs) has not emerged. Preliminary findings from a study of low-income women demonstrated that the Adult Experiences Survey, a seminal assessment of AAEs, has sound psychometric properties. Further study of the measure in more generalizable samples is needed. Similarly, interest in positive childhood experiences is on the rise, but no known studies have explored the protective effects of positive adult experiences (PAEs). This investigation aims to fill these knowledge gaps by revalidating the Adult Experiences Survey in a general population sample and testing whether PAEs moderate the effects associated with AAEs on mental health and well-being.

Methods: Data originated from the Strong and Stable Families Study, an investigation of risk and resilience among families with children in Wisconsin. Data were collected from 2,045 adults who completed a baseline survey that included the Adult Experiences Survey. Ten AAEs were assessed, including five that referenced a current or former partner/spouse: physical or emotional abuse, sexual abuse, substance abuse, mental health problem, and incarceration. The other five AAEs were sexual assault, crime victimization, chronic financial problems, homelessness, and discrimination. The AAEs were dichotomized and summed as a composite score. The baseline survey also yielded five PAE measures, including four subscales from the Protective Factors Survey, 2^nd edition: (1) social support, (2) concrete support, (3) nurturing and attachment, (4) family functioning/resilience. A fifth PAE measure was constructed as a count score from six items related to family and community experiences of social, emotional, and concrete support.

A confirmatory factor analysis was performed to analyze the fit of the hypothesized factor structure of the Adult Experiences Survey. Regression analyses were conducted to test the associated effects of AAEs and PAEs on four indicators of mental health and well-being: depression, anxiety, quality of life, and life satisfaction. Another set of regressions were repeated after adding interaction terms between the composite AAE score and each PAE measure.

Results: Participants reported 2.6 AAEs on average; 29.5% endured four or more AAEs. Replicating previous results, the 10 AAEs fit a two-factor structure that differentiated partner/spouse adversities from other household and community adversities (fit indices: chi-square (df) = 181.76 (34), RMSEA= .046, CFI = .976, TLI = .969, SRMR = .051). All five PAE measures were negatively associated with depression, anxiety, quality of life, and life satisfaction (p < .01). Results also showed that all four subscales of the Protective Factors Survey significantly moderated the effects of AAEs on at least one study outcome.

Conclusions: The Adult Experiences Survey appears to be a promising tool for assessing AAEs. Results confirmed that, like ACEs, AAEs are highly prevalent in the general population but even more so in disadvantaged and marginalized populations. Consistent with resilience theory, hypothesized protective factors moderated the effects of AAEs on mental health and well-being. Implications for the measurement and modeling of life course adversity will be discussed.