Abstract
This study focused on (1) establishing whether levels of mental health measured through behavioral dimensions varied according to the presence or absence of adverse childhood experiences, (2) distinguish which adverse experiences identified and evaluated in a school context predicted risks to mental health in children, and (3) assessing the cumulative effect of adverse experiences on children’s mental health. The design was a cross-sectional survey. It used a sample of 14,957 students in the 1st and 3rd year of elementary school participating in a national mental health program, who were measured on variables related to mental health and adverse experiences. The data were analyzed using Student’s t test, one-way ANOVA, and multiple linear regression models. The results showed that mental health levels are less favorable in those students who had been exposed to more psychosocial adversities and that teacher assessments regarding the child’s behavior and academic progress were the strongest predictor of mental health difficulties. The importance of detecting adversities in the school context and how this should guide school mental health interventions implemented by a public program nationwide are discussed.
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The data sets analyzed during the present study are not publicly available because they are private and sensitive data for the public program from which the data were obtained but are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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This work was supported by the National Scientific and Technological Development Fund under the Grant Fondecyt Regular Project N° 1171634. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
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Leiva, L., Antivilo-Bruna, A., Torres-Cortés, B. et al. Relationship between adverse childhood experiences and mental health: Implications for a nationwide school mental health program. Curr Psychol 42, 10849–10861 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02342-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02342-x