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Patterns of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Psychiatric Disorders Among Adolescents with ADHD: A Latent Class Analysis

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Abstract

There is limited existing research on whether specific combinations of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are associated with different psychiatric disorders among adolescents with ADHD. This study aimed to address this gap by identifying classes of ACEs and examining their association with behavioral problems, anxiety, and depression in adolescents with ADHD aged 11–17 (n = 1,806), using data from the 2018 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). A latent class analysis revealed a four-class solution: (1) low-risk ACEs (61.6%), (2) moderate-risk ACEs (25.2%), (3) high discrimination and neighborhood violence exposure (7.6%), and (4) high-risk ACEs (5.6%). The “high-risk ACEs” and the “high discrimination and neighborhood violence exposure” class showed a higher likelihood of behavioral problems and depression, and anxiety and depression respectively. These findings provide some insight into the ACE patterns that are more likely to be associated with mental health problems among adolescents with ADHD.

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Data Availability

The data of this study are publicly available and accessible via the U.S. Census Bureau.

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  1. Florida Department of Children and Families, Tallahassee, FL, 32303, USA

    Jihee Song

  2. Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Jihee Song

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Song, J. Patterns of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Psychiatric Disorders Among Adolescents with ADHD: A Latent Class Analysis. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-023-01645-3

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