(PS4-C69) Memories of Emotional Experiences in Childhood Improve Prediction of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms over Number of Aces

Background: It is well known that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have a significant negative impact on mental health outcomes in adulthood (Merrick et al., 2017). ACEs have been shown to predict a variety of mental health issues, including posttraumatic stress symptoms (Tabb et al., 2022). Often, a dose-response relationship is found. Yet, traditional methods of assessing ACEs rely on totaling the number of different ACEs a person has experienced (i.e., the ACE-Q) but does not take into account a person’s emotional experience of childhood. When attempting to understand the impact of trauma, it is important to consider how the individual assigned meaning to and experienced the event, not just whether the event happened. Thus, it was hypothesized that adding a measure of an individual’s emotional experience of childhood will improve prediction of posttraumatic stress symptoms beyond the number of ACEs alone.

Methods: In this study, the incremental validity of the Early Life Experiences Scale (ELES), which assesses memories of childhood emotional experiences, was tested for predicting posttraumatic stress symptoms in a sample of young adults. The participants (N = 119; M_age = 18.71, SD = 0.99; 69.75% female; 66.39% White) completed a wide range of questionnaires examining ACEs, early emotional experiences, anxiety symptoms, posttraumatic stress symptoms, emotion regulation, and parental attachment. For the current analyses, only the ACE-Q, ELES, and UCLA PTSD Reaction Index (UCLA PTSD-RI) were used. Two multiple linear regression analyses were run, with the ACE-Q total score predicting the UCLA PTSD-RI total score in the first model and the ELES added as a predictor in the second model.

 

Results: Sex but not age was significantly associated with the UCLA PTSD-RI total score, so the multiple linear regression analyses controlled for that variable. In the first multiple linear regression model, ACE-Q total scores (b = 6.633, p < .001) significantly predicted UCLA PTSD-RI total scores, even when accounting for participants’ sex (R² = 0.342, p < .001). In the second model, ACE-Q total scores (b = 1.472, p = .18) no longer significantly predicted the outcome variable, but the added variable ELES total scores (b = 1.077, p < .001) significantly predicted the outcome variable, even when accounting for participants’ sex (R² = 0.527, p < .001). The change in R² was significant (F = 45.105, p < .001).

 

Discussion: The results suggest that adding emotional experiences of childhood improve prediction of posttraumatic stress symptoms beyond ACEs alone. In fact, total number of ACEs no longer acted as a significant predictor when childhood emotional experiences and sex was incorporated into the model. This study highlights the importance of assessing emotional experiences in childhood when examining the impact of ACEs on later mental health. Future research should use measures of both types of experiences to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms through which ACEs impact different mental health outcomes.