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Hindi Research Article
The Relationship between Self-Reported Adult Impact of Adverse Childhood Events and Health-Related Quality of Life
David A Graeber1* Deborah L Helitzer2 Jan Fawcett4 Marianna La Noue3
1Department of Psychiatry, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, USA
2Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, USA
3Department of Family and Community Medicine, Jefferson Medical College, USA
- Corresponding Author:
- David A Graeber
Department of Psychiatry
University of New Mexico School of Medicine
MSC 09 5030, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USA
Tel: 505-272-5002
E-mail: DGraeber@salud.unm.edu
Received Date: November 14, 2013; Accepted Date: December 24, 2013; Published Date: December 26, 2013
Citation: Graeber DA, Helitzer DL, Noue ML, Fawcett J (2013) The Relationship between Self-Reported Adult Impact of Adverse Childhood Events and Health-Related Quality of Life. J Community Med Health Educ 4:267. doi: 10.4172/2161-0711.1000267
Copyright: © 2013 Graeber DA, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Childhood maltreatment has become a widespread public health problem that can have life-long impact, according to the National Center of Child Abuse and Neglect. The literature is replete with epidemiologic and co relational research about the relationship between adverse childhood events (ACE’s) and a wide range of negative health and mental health outcomes. Anecdotal evidence suggests that only some individuals who experience ACE’s follow a trajectory of poor outcomes, and not all individuals perceive the impact of ACE’s as necessarily negative. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between individual’s current perceived impact of ACE in adulthood and health related quality of life (HRQL). Self-report data on ACE experiences, including number, severity, and ‘impact’ were collected from 154 community members recruited on the basis of having adverse childhood experiences that might affect adult health related quality of life. Results indicated that, regardless of the number of different types of adverse events experienced, high levels of perceived impact and the rating of this impact as negative or positive were strong predictors of current HRQL. Participants with high levels of perceived negative impact of ACE in adulthood had significantly lower levels of HRQL. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.
