The article, “Perceiving E-Cigarettes as Safe and Safer Alternative to Cigarettes Among Young Adults,” has been published in SAj.
In this commentary, the authors state that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) predict problematic health outcomes (eg, substance use, mental health) among young adults; whether specific ACEs are differentially associated with specific substance use and mental health symptoms is understudied. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are defined as stressful and/or traumatic experiences that occur before the age of 18 years and consist of abuse (physical, emotional, sexual), neglect (physical, emotional), and household dysfunction (parental incarceration, divorce, substance use, abuse toward mother). ACEs are a common occurrence, with nearly two-thirds of US adults reporting having experienced at least 1 ACE, and most individuals who experience ACEs experience more than one type. Unfortunately, ACEs are associated with a range of problematic health outcomes, including substance use (eg, tobacco, cannabis, alcohol) and mental health conditions (eg, depression, anxiety) during adulthood.
In the AUTHORS’ OWN WORDS, they relate the importance of their work:
“Because lifelong patterns of health behaviors are commonly initiated during young adulthood, understanding unique associations between specific ACE profiles and a range of adverse health outcomes is essential to informing health behavior interventions to offset the risk of negative health patterns throughout the life course. Thus, the twofold aims of the current study were to: (1) identify classes of young adults based on their exposure to ACEs assessed via the widely accepted 10 ACEs items developed by Kaiser Permanente and (2) examine associations between ACEs classes and a range of health outcomes, including substance use (ie, tobacco use and number of products used; cannabis use and hazardous use; alcohol use and binge drinking) and mental health (ie, symptoms of depression and anxiety).”
“Taken together, young adults displayed 4 unique patterns of ACEs, including Low ACEs, Parental abuse, Poor family health and divorce, and High ACEs. All combinations of ACEs were associated with reporting current use of tobacco and cannabis, as well as current depression and anxiety. However, specific combinations of ACEs uniquely predicted more problematic patterns of tobacco and cannabis use, with Parental abuse potentially driving patterns of polytobacco use, Poor family health and divorce driving patterns of hazardous cannabis use, and the combination of Parental abuse and Poor family health and divorce driving binge drinking behaviors. Findings highlight that all combinations of ACEs are associated with problematic health behaviors among young adults, but that young adults may seek out specific substances to cope with their unique experiences of childhood maltreatment. Findings underscore the need for substance use and mental health interventions for young adults to assess the specific types of ACEs experienced during childhood and to tailor treatment for such experiences.”