Adverse Childhood Experiences Among 28,047 Norwegian Adults From a General Population

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The magic in the (extra)ordinary: Intensive validation to recalibrate the life-worlds of adolescents exposed to abuse

This qualitative case study aimed to explore environmental circumstances and inter-actional processes that appeared to be relevant for the dynamics of resilience in ado-lescents exposed to child abuse. Fieldwork at a learning and coping centre forchildren and their families was combined with semi-structured interviews with ado-lescent participants aged 12 to 18 years. A critical realist approach was used tounpack what has been called the‘ordinary magic’of resilience. We found thatinten-sively validating qualitiesof both theenvironmentandrelationshipsseemed to be driv-ing components for resilience. Borrowing ideas from the sociometer theory, wepropose that particularly the consistent intensiveness may offer arecalibrationof theadolescents' immediate life-worlds, in terms of how they perceive the people theymeet and the environments they step into. In keeping with the transactional-ecological model of resilience, we suggest that such a recalibration leads to alteredsocial agency that becomes visible through their immediate social participation.publishedVersio

Associations between adverse childhood experiences and adversities later in life. Survey data from a high-risk Norwegian sample

Background: A history of childhood abuse and neglect (CAN) is associated with exposure to later negative life events. CAN at an early age, multiple cooccurring exposures (cumulative events), and a high severity and frequency of exposure have potential detrimental long-term effects. Objective: The present study examines the relationship between the severity of CAN and the prevalence of school difficulties and hardship at school, adult adversity and mental health. Participants and Settings: Participants were recruited from in- and out patient mental health or substance abuse treatment facilities, child protective services (CPS),and prisons (N=809, age range = 13–66, mean age= 27.62,SD=10.47). Methods: Exposure to childhood maltreatment was assessed by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire Short Form (CTQ-SF). After adjusting for gender and age, we conducted a risk ratio regression analysis to investigate associations between severity of child abuse and neglect and hardship at school, adult adversity and adult mental health. Results: The moderate and severe level groups of CAN had statistically significant higher risk ratios for experiences of school difficulties, hardship at school, adult adversity and mental health problems. A robust dose-response was found between severity levels. Conclusion: At an individual level the findings highlight the association between exposure to abuse and adult adversity, underscoring the importance of targeting individuals with high risk of exposure to CAN to reduce the negative long-term risk for Polyvictimization.publishedVersio

Study protocol: the Norwegian Triple-S Cohort Study - establishing a longitudinal health survey of children and adolescents with experiences of maltreatment

Background Child maltreatment is prevalent and associated with both short- and long-term health problems. Previous studies have established child maltreatment as a risk factor for a wide range of problems over the life course such as mental- and somatic health problems, self-harm, alcohol- and drug abuse and decreased work-life participation. Still, there are few large and well-conducted longitudinal studies focusing on describing prevalence and identifying risk factors and long-term consequences of child maltreatment. The purpose of the current study is to recruit a large number of children and adolescents exposed to maltreatment and follow them long-term. Methods/design The current study is a longitudinal cohort study and will use a multi-informant design (child/adolescent, caregiver, and administrative data). Participants will be recruited from the Stine Sofie Centre (SSC), a learning and coping centre for children and adolescents (≤18 years) exposed to maltreatment, which includes physical and emotional abuse, neglect and/or sexual abuse. Questionnaire-based assessments from self-reports (as well as parent-reports) will be carried out at regular time intervals throughout their lives, on topics such as abuse, negative life events, mental and somatic health problems, resilience and coping, satisfaction with health services, social-, family-, and school function, as well as self-harm and substance abuse. Participants will be assessed upon entry to the centre and followed up annually until they reach 18 years and bi-annually after. Given written consent, participants’ responses will be linked to relevant national registries in order to examine predictive factors and important outcomes in terms of subsequent health, education, criminal records and work affiliation. Discussion This study will examine short- and long-term consequences of child maltreatment across a range of health-related outcomes in a longitudinal perspective. Results from the current study might have implications for the development of preventive and intervention programs related to child maltreatment and the organization and follow-up of the services these children receive. The current study will hopefully contribute with knowledge of risk-factors, short- and long-term health-related and other issues that can contribute to practices aimed at improving the overall life-course for children and adolescents who have experienced childhood maltreatment.publishedVersio

Childhood maltreatment trauma: a comparison between patients in treatment for substance use disorders and patients in mental health treatment

Background: While previous research has found strong associations between childhood maltreatment trauma and substance use disorders (SUDs), the role of possible moderating effects of gender and mediating effects of psychopathology and SUD is unclear. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate differences in self-reported childhood maltreatment trauma, general psychological distress, and post-traumatic stress symptoms between 112 patients in treatment for substance use disorders (SUD group) and 112 matched controls with mild to moderate mental health disorders (comparison group). Methods: Childhood maltreatment trauma was measured by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire – Short Form (CTQ-SF). General psychological distress was measured by the Symptom Checklist-90 – Revised (SCL-90-R), and post-traumatic stress symptoms were measured by the Impact of Event Scale – Revised (IES-R). Results: The SUD group reported more severe childhood maltreatment trauma than the comparison group. Females in the SUD group reported more severe and various forms of trauma compared to males. The SUD group reported higher mean scores on the SCL-90-R, but the proportions of people with caseness scores on the IES-R and the SCL-90-R were similar in the two samples. The SUD group reported more avoidance symptoms than the comparison group. Conclusion: This study adds further evidence to the repeatedly found strong associations between childhood maltreatment trauma and SUD, implying that the prevention of childhood maltreatment trauma may reduce the occurrence of SUD. Furthermore, patients with SUD should be screened for childhood maltreatment trauma, and the results should be applied in trauma-informed as well as trauma-focused interventions aimed to help this population. The association appears to be particularly strong for female substance users

The magic in the (extra)ordinary: Intensive validation to recalibrate the life-worlds of adolescents exposed to abuse

This qualitative case study aimed to explore environmental circumstances and inter-actional processes that appeared to be relevant for the dynamics of resilience in ado-lescents exposed to child abuse. Fieldwork at a learning and coping centre forchildren and their families was combined with semi-structured interviews with ado-lescent participants aged 12 to 18 years. A critical realist approach was used tounpack what has been called the‘ordinary magic’of resilience. We found thatinten-sively validating qualitiesof both theenvironmentandrelationshipsseemed to be driv-ing components for resilience. Borrowing ideas from the sociometer theory, wepropose that particularly the consistent intensiveness may offer arecalibrationof theadolescents' immediate life-worlds, in terms of how they perceive the people theymeet and the environments they step into. In keeping with the transactional-ecological model of resilience, we suggest that such a recalibration leads to alteredsocial agency that becomes visible through their immediate social participation

Childhood maltreatment and sleep in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Childhood maltreatment is a global problem with the risk of serious health consequences for children and adolescents, including sleep problems. Former systematic reviews have examined the association between childhood maltreatment and sleep problems in adults, but no systematic review has investigated the literature on childhood maltreatment and sleep problems in childhood and adolescence. We published a protocol (PROSPERO: CRD42021225741) and conducted a systematic literature search using nine electronic databases. Upon duplicate removal, 1530 records were screened against the inclusion criteria, and 26 studies were included in the review. The most studied sleep outcomes were symptoms of insomnia, sleep duration and nightmares. The results showed significant associations between exposure to childhood maltreatment and insomnia symptoms (OR 3.91, 95%CI: 2.64–5.79, p < .001), shorter sleep duration (−12.1 min, 95%CI: −19.4 to −4.7, p < .001) and nightmares (OR 3.15, 95%CI: 2.38–4.18, p < 001). There was a considerable heterogeneity in measures and instruments used to examine sleep and maltreatment. Our findings highlight the importance of screening and intervening for sleep problems in children and adolescents exposed to childhood maltreatment

Childhood maltreatment and sleep in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Childhood maltreatment is a global problem with the risk of serious health consequences for children and adolescents, including sleep problems. Former systematic reviews have examined the association between childhood maltreatment and sleep problems in adults, but no systematic review has investigated the literature on childhood maltreatment and sleep problems in childhood and adolescence. We published a protocol (PROSPERO: CRD42021225741) and conducted a systematic literature search using nine electronic databases. Upon duplicate removal, 1530 records were screened against the inclusion criteria, and 26 studies were included in the review. The most studied sleep outcomes were symptoms of insomnia, sleep duration and nightmares. The results showed significant associations between exposure to childhood maltreatment and insomnia symptoms (OR 3.91, 95%CI: 2.64–5.79, p < .001), shorter sleep duration (−12.1 min, 95%CI: −19.4 to −4.7, p < .001) and nightmares (OR 3.15, 95%CI: 2.38–4.18, p < 001). There was a considerable heterogeneity in measures and instruments used to examine sleep and maltreatment. Our findings highlight the importance of screening and intervening for sleep problems in children and adolescents exposed to childhood maltreatment

Adverse Childhood Experiences Among 28,047 Norwegian Adults From a General Population

Aim: The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among Norwegian adults from a general population and to identify potential associations with demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Methods: A randomly drawn sample (N = 61,611) from the public registry of inhabitants was invited to participate in the Norwegian Counties Public Health Survey. The present study was based on online responses from 28,047 adults ≥18 years (mean age: 46.9 years, SD = 16.03). Log-link binomial regression analyses were performed to examine associations between four measures of ACEs (family conflict, lack of adult support, bad memories, and difficult childhood) and demographic (age, gender, civil status, parental divorce) and socioeconomic characteristics (education level, perceived financial situation, and welfare benefits). Results: Single individuals and those with parents that divorced during childhood were at elevated risk of all four ACEs. The risk varied to some degree between the sexes. The prevalence of ACEs declined with increasing age. We found a consistent social gradient that corresponded to the frequency of ACEs for all three socioeconomic characteristics investigated. The risks were highest for those in the lowest socioeconomic levels (RR: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.32–1.78 to RR: 4.95, CI: 4.27–5.74). Conclusions: Public health strategies should direct more attention to the interplay between ACEs and socioeconomic factors. Welfare services should be sensitive to ACEs among their service recipients