IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v16y2019i6p1048-d216549.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Measuring the Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences by Survey Research Methods

Author

Listed:
  • Anikó Ujhelyi Nagy

    (Institute of Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Public Health, University of Debrecen, Móricz Zsigmond krt. 22., H-4032 Debrecen, Hajdú-Bihar, Hungary)

  • Ildikó Kuritár Szabó

    (Institute of Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Public Health, University of Debrecen, Móricz Zsigmond krt. 22., H-4032 Debrecen, Hajdú-Bihar, Hungary)

  • Endre Hann

    (Median Opinion & Market Research Ltd., Fürj utca 2., H-1124 Budapest, Hungary)

  • Karolina Kósa

    (Institute of Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Public Health, University of Debrecen, Móricz Zsigmond krt. 22., H-4032 Debrecen, Hajdú-Bihar, Hungary)

Abstract

Background : Child maltreatment has been firmly established as a fundamental risk factor for adult health. However, its quantification poses many questions methodologically, psychologically, and culturally alike. We carried out the first nationally representative survey research in Hungary and in Central–Eastern Europe to assess the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among adults. Methods : Data were collected by an opinion research company using a screening tool of the Adverse Childhood Experiences study. Results : 25% (n = 293) of adults reported any childhood adversity; 5% (n = 59) of them had four or more ACEs. The most prevalent forms of child maltreatment were emotional (5%, n = 59) and physical abuse (5%, n = 59), sexual abuse (1%, n = 12) being the least prevalent. The most frequent dysfunctional household condition was parental divorce or separation (13%, n = 153), followed by household substance abuse (11%, n = 129). Conclusions : Nationally representative surveys on ACEs found a range of overall prevalence of various forms of child maltreatment between 14.1 and 35.2% into which our results fall. Nevertheless, our survey most likely underestimates the prevalence of child maltreatment in Hungary, reflecting the impact of a host of factors influencing awareness. Survey research methods are appropriate to obtain nationally representative data on child maltreatment that not only contribute to designing interventions but can also be used to monitor the effectiveness of interventions to improve child and adult health in the long run.

Suggested Citation

  • Anikó Ujhelyi Nagy & Ildikó Kuritár Szabó & Endre Hann & Karolina Kósa, 2019. "Measuring the Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences by Survey Research Methods," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-17, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:6:p:1048-:d:216549
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/6/1048/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/6/1048/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Matt DeLisi & Justin Alcala & Abdi Kusow & Andy Hochstetler & Mark H. Heirigs & Jonathan W. Caudill & Chad R. Trulson & Michael T. Baglivio, 2017. "Adverse Childhood Experiences, Commitment Offense, and Race/Ethnicity: Are the Effects Crime-, Race-, and Ethnicity-Specific?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-12, March.
    2. Yasukazu Ogai & Eiichi Senoo & Fumiyuki Chin Gardner & Ayako Haraguchi & Tamaki Saito & Nobuaki Morita & Kazutaka Ikeda, 2015. "Association between Experience of Child Abuse and Severity of Drug Addiction Measured by the Addiction Severity Index among Japanese Drug-Dependent Patients," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-12, March.
    3. Maravillas Castro & Mavi Alcántara-López & Antonia Martínez & Visitación Fernández & Julio Sánchez-Meca & Concepción López-Soler, 2017. "Mother’s IPV, Child Maltreatment Type and the Presence of PTSD in Children and Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-14, September.
    4. Rosana E Norman & Munkhtsetseg Byambaa & Rumna De & Alexander Butchart & James Scott & Theo Vos, 2012. "The Long-Term Health Consequences of Child Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, and Neglect: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(11), pages 1-31, November.
    5. Vonesh E. F & Wang H. & Majumdar D., 2001. "Generalized Least Squares, Taylor Series Linearization and Fishers Scoring in Multivariate Nonlinear Regression," Journal of the American Statistical Association, American Statistical Association, vol. 96, pages 282-291, March.
    6. Baker, Amy J.L., 2009. "Adult recall of childhood psychological maltreatment: Definitional strategies and challenges," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 703-714, July.
    7. Seonaid Cleare & Karen Wetherall & Andrea Clark & Caoimhe Ryan & Olivia J. Kirtley & Michael Smith & Rory C. O’Connor, 2018. "Adverse Childhood Experiences and Hospital-Treated Self-Harm," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-13, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Typhanye V. Dyer & Rodman E. Turpin & David J. Hawthorne & Vardhmaan Jain & Sonica Sayam & Mona Mittal, 2022. "Sexual Risk Behavior and Lifetime HIV Testing: The Role of Adverse Childhood Experiences," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-14, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Emma Ashworth & Ian Jarman & Philippa McCabe & Molly McCarthy & Serena Provazza & Vivienne Crosbie & Zara Quigg & Pooja Saini, 2023. "Suicidal Crisis among Children and Young People: Associations with Adverse Childhood Experiences and Socio-Demographic Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-13, January.
    2. Zi-Yu Wang & Ming Hu & Tao-Lin Yu & Jun Yang, 2019. "The Relationship between Childhood Maltreatment and Risky Sexual Behaviors: A Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-17, September.
    3. Sánchez-Sandoval, Yolanda & Aragón, Claudia & Verdugo, Laura, 2022. "Future expectations of adolescents in Residential Care: The role of self-perceptions," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    4. Anke Hoeffler, 2017. "Violence Against Children: A Critical Issue for Development," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 29(5), pages 945-963, November.
    5. Xuening Chang & Xueyan Jiang & Tamara Mkandarwire & Min Shen, 2019. "Associations between adverse childhood experiences and health outcomes in adults aged 18–59 years," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(2), pages 1-11, February.
    6. Chen, Xiaoxiao & Shao, Jingjin & Pu, Xin & Wang, Zhi, 2023. "Childhood maltreatment and adolescents’ peer victimization: The effect of security, school connectedness and gender," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    7. Carolien Christ & Marleen M de Waal & Jack J M Dekker & Iris van Kuijk & Digna J F van Schaik & Martijn J Kikkert & Anna E Goudriaan & Aartjan T F Beekman & Terri L Messman-Moore, 2019. "Linking childhood emotional abuse and depressive symptoms: The role of emotion dysregulation and interpersonal problems," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(2), pages 1-18, February.
    8. Amy van Grieken & Esther M.B. Horrevorts & Cathelijne L. Mieloo & Rienke Bannink & Merian B.R. Bouwmeester-Landweer & Esther Hafkamp-de Groen & Suzanne Broeren & Hein Raat, 2019. "A Controlled Trial in Community Pediatrics to Empower Parents Who Are at Risk for Parenting Stress: The Supportive Parenting Intervention," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-14, November.
    9. Burnson, Cynthia & Covington, Sarah & Arvizo, Bertha & Qiao, Jun & Harris, Elizabeth, 2021. "The impact of parents anonymous on child safety and permanency," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    10. Janaína C. N. Carvalho & Júlia C. Donat & Alice E. Brunnet & Thiago G. Silva & Gustavo R. Silva & Christian H. Kristensen, 2016. "Cognitive, Neurobiological and Psychopathological Alterations Associated with Child Maltreatment: A Review of Systematic Reviews," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 9(2), pages 389-406, June.
    11. Wolf, Jennifer Price & Freisthler, Bridget & McCarthy, Karla Shockley, 2021. "Parenting in poor health: Examining associations between parental health, prescription drug use, and child maltreatment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    12. Rachel Langevin & Audrey Kern & Tonino Esposito & Sonia Hélie, 2023. "Homotypical and Heterotypical Intergenerational Continuity of Child Maltreatment: Evidence from a Cohort of Families Involved with Child Protection Services," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-15, February.
    13. Ran Wu & Hong Zhu & Meng-Yang Wu & Guang-Hai Wang & Chun-Lei Jiang, 2022. "Childhood Trauma and Suicide: The Mediating Effect of Stress and Sleep," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-11, July.
    14. Helenowski Irene B & Vonesh Edward F & Demirtas Hakan & Rademaker Alfred W & Ananthanarayanan Vijayalakshmi & Gann Peter H & Jovanovic Borko D, 2011. "Defining Reproducibility Statistics as a Function of the Spatial Covariance Structures in Biomarker Studies," The International Journal of Biostatistics, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 1-21, January.
    15. Mariëlle E. Abrahamse & Vionna M. W. Tsang & Ramón J. L. Lindauer, 2021. "Home-Based Parent–Child Interaction Therapy to Prevent Child Maltreatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-15, August.
    16. Pellowski, Jennifer A. & Barnett, Whitney & Kuo, Caroline C. & Koen, Nastassja & Zar, Heather J. & Stein, Dan J., 2017. "Investigating tangible and mental resources as predictors of perceived household food insecurity during pregnancy among women in a South African birth cohort study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 76-84.
    17. Ma, Julie & Han, Yoonsun, 2023. "Heterogeneous effects of spanking on child protective services involvement in early childhood: A propensity score stratification analysis," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    18. Kate Guastaferro & Stacey L. Shipe, 2023. "Child Maltreatment Types by Age: Implications for Prevention," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(1), pages 1-9, December.
    19. Lauren Rumble & Ali Aulia Ramly & Mu’man Nuryana & Michael P. Dunne, 2018. "The Importance of Contextual Factors in Carrying Out Childhood Violence Surveys: a Case Study from Indonesia," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 11(2), pages 405-421, April.
    20. Anilena Mejia & Divna Haslam & Matthew R. Sanders & Nicole Penman, 2017. "Protecting Children in Low- and Middle-Income Countries from Abuse and Neglect: Critical Challenges for Successful Implementation of Parenting Programmes," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 29(5), pages 1038-1052, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:6:p:1048-:d:216549. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.