Associations of adverse childhood experiences and suicidal behaviors in adulthood in a U.S. nationally representative sample.

Suicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults. The current study extends the research linking adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) to suicidal behaviors by testing these associations using a nationally representative sample, assessing for suicide ideation and attempts in adulthood, controlling for established risk factors for suicidality, and measuring a broad array of ACEs. The sample included 9,421 participants from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health who participated in four waves of assessments spanning 13 years. We examined longitudinal associations between eight different ACEs (physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, neglect, parental death, incarceration, alcoholism, and family suicidality) with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in adulthood, while controlling for depression, problem alcohol use, drug use, delinquency, impulsivity, gender, race, age, and urbanicity. We also tested for cumulative associations of ACEs with suicide ideation and attempts. Logistic regression analyses indicated that physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, parental incarceration, and family history of suicidality each increased the risk by 1.4 to 2.7 times for suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in adulthood. The accumulation of ACEs increased the odds of suicide ideation and attempts. Compared with those with no ACEs, the odds of seriously considering suicide or attempting suicide in adulthood increased more than threefold among those with three or more ACEs. Intervention strategies need to prevent ACEs from occurring and, if they do occur, should take into account the impact of cumulative ACEs on suicide risk. Future research should focus on identifying mediating mechanisms for the ACEs-suicidality association using longitudinal research designs and determine which ACEs are most important to include in a cumulative ACE measure.

Thompson MP ，Kingree JB ，Lamis D 《-》

Adverse childhood experiences, sexual victimization, and suicide ideation and attempts: A longitudinal path analysis spanning 22 years.

Thompson MP ，Kingree JB 《-》

Suicidality among young adults: Unique and cumulative roles of 14 different adverse childhood experiences.

College students with suicidal ideation (SI) are at high risk of suicide. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are important risk factors for suicidal behavior. Most research in this area has been restricted to 10 conventional ACEs and suggests negative long-term developmental effects from other common childhood adversities such as peer victimization, peer isolation/rejection, exposure to community violence, and low socioeconomic status. To test the unique and cumulative associations of 14 different ACEs with SI among young adults. Participants were 989 college students from two universities in China's provincial-leveled Hui Autonomous Region. Associations between ACEs and SI were analyzed by logistic regression. A Chi-square trend test was used to examine the association between cumulative ACEs and SI. The rates of suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts among the cohort were 11.9%, 3.7%, and 1.6%, respectively; 43.9% had experienced at least one ACE. The strongest predictor of SI in adulthood was peer isolation/rejection, followed by emotional neglect, then low socioeconomic status. There was a cumulative effect of ACEs and SI, whereby the greater the number of ACEs, the greater the likelihood of SI. Peer isolation/rejection, emotional neglect, and low socioeconomic status were associated with increased risk of SI in adulthood. Two (peer isolation/rejection and low socioeconomic status) of the three factors that emerged from the analysis are not typically included in ACEs research. There was a cumulative effect of 14 kinds of ACEs on SI among young adults. Early recognition of risk factors is therefore important.

Wang YR ，Sun JW ，Lin PZ ，Zhang HH ，Mu GX ，Cao FL ... -  《-》

Child and Adolescent Suicide Attempts, Suicidal Behavior, and Adverse Childhood Experiences in South Africa: A Prospective Study.

This is the first known prospective study of child suicidal behavior in sub-Saharan Africa. Aims were to determine whether (1) cumulative exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) predicts later suicidality and (2) heightened risks are mediated by mental health disorder and drug/alcohol misuse. Longitudinal repeated interviews were conducted 1 year apart (97% retention) with 3,515 adolescents aged 10-18 years in South Africa (56% female; <2.5% refusal). Random selection of census enumeration areas from urban/rural sites within two provinces and door-to-door sampling included all homes with a resident adolescent. Measures included past-month suicide attempts, planning, and ideation, mental health disorders, drug/alcohol use, and ACE, for example, parental death by AIDS or homicide, abuse, and exposure to community violence. Analyses included multivariate logistic regression and multiple mediation tests. Past-month suicidality rates were 3.2% of adolescents attempting, 5.8% planning, and 7.2% reporting ideation. After controlling for baseline suicidality and sociodemographics, a strong, graded relationship was shown between cumulative ACE and all suicide behaviors 1 year later. Baseline mental health, but not drug/alcohol misuse, mediated relationships between ACE and subsequent suicidality. Suicide attempts rose from 1.9% among adolescents with no ACE to 6.3% among adolescents with >5 ACEs (cumulative odds ratio [OR], 2.46; confidence interval [CI], 1.00-6.05); for suicide planning, from 2.4% to 12.5% (cumulative OR, 4.40; CI, 2.08-9.29); and for suicide ideation, from 4.2% to 15.6% (cumulative OR, 2.99; CI, 1.68-5.53). Preventing and mitigating childhood adversities have the potential to reduce suicidality. Among adolescents already exposed to adversities, effective mental health services may buffer against future suicidality.

Cluver L ，Orkin M ，Boyes ME ，Sherr L ... -  《-》

The association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and suicide attempts in a population-based study.

To further our understanding of the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and suicidal behaviour, this study investigates the association between three types of ACEs and lifetime suicide attempts, while considering potential gender-specific and mediating effects. Data were obtained from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health (CCHS-MH), a cross-sectional, population-based survey comprised of respondents aged 18 or older who provided self-reported data on past experiences of suicide attempts, as well as childhood sexual abuse (CSA), childhood physical abuse (CPA) and parental domestic violence (PDV) (n = 22 559). After testing for ACE by gender interactions, we estimated the odds of lifetime suicide attempts for each ACE and then investigated whether depression, anxiety, substance abuse and chronic pain acted as mediators of the relationship. The odds of suicide attempts are significantly higher among those with a history of CPA (OR = 3.29; 99.9% CI 2.33-4.64), CSA (OR = 4.42; 99.9% CI 3.14-6.23) or PDV (OR = 2.52; 99.9% CI 1.69-3.76), when ACEs are mutually adjusted. There is little evidence that gender acts as a moderator; however, depression, anxiety, substance abuse and chronic pain appear to partially mediate the associations. Depression alone accounts for about a quarter of the associations with CSA and CPA. Mental health factors and chronic pain appear only to partially mediate relationships between ACEs and lifetime suicide attempts. Future research should look at other pathways with the goal of developing multi-level interventions.

Fuller-Thomson E ，Baird SL ，Dhrodia R ，Brennenstuhl S ... -  《-》