Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in young people who experienced sexual abuse

Abstract

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have a wide range of negative outcomes including physical and mental health difficulties. Research shows the impact of ACEs are greater for those who face four or more traumatic events in their childhood, with strong associations between ACEs and sexual risk-taking, offending behaviour, and reduced education. It is likely those are at-risk of certain trauma, like sexual abuse, are more likely to have had other traumas as well. The current project screened through family assessments of young people involved in CSATS (Child Sexual Abuse Therapeutic Service) to look for all ACEs experienced by the cohort, as other factors could be contributing to difficulties for this group of young people. The CSATS cohort experiences more traumas during childhood than the general population, indicating a higher risk of physical and mental health difficulties. It was also found that the highest levels of trauma were between young people and their caregiver (parental substance use, mental health, separation, and domestic violence), indicating a lack of support from home. We also found higher levels of neurodiversity than in the general population. These results show a need to consider possible trauma during assessment and intervention while working with young people who have experienced sexual abuse to work with them in a more effective way. These results should be interpreted with caution due to possibility of underestimation of difficulties, however, is a good starting point to considering different ways we can work with the population served by CSATS.