Resilience and Adverse Childhood Experiences: Associations With Poor Mental Health Among Homeless Adults

• Published in: American journal of preventive medicine Vol. 58; no. 6; pp. 807 - 816
• Main Authors: Liu, Michael, Mejia-Lancheros, Cilia, Lachaud, James, Nisenbaum, Rosane, Stergiopoulos, Vicky, Hwang, Stephen W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Inc 01.06.2020; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Adult; Adults; Adverse; Adverse childhood experiences; Adverse Childhood Experiences - psychology; Adverse Childhood Experiences - statistics & numerical data; Associations; Averages; Childhood experiences; Childhood factors; Comorbidity; Economic factors; Female; Health status; Homeless people; Homeless Persons - statistics & numerical data; Housing; Humans; Illnesses; Indexes; Life course; Male; Mental disorders; Mental Disorders - epidemiology; Mental health; Mental health care; Middle Aged; Ontario - epidemiology; Protective factors; Psychopathology; Resilience; Resilience, Psychological; Risk factors; Severity of Illness Index; Sociodemographics; Surveys and Questionnaires; Symptoms; Young Adult; Ontario; United States > US; Colorado
• ISSN: 0749-3797; 1873-2607
• DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2019.12.017

Adverse childhood experiences are known risk factors for a range of social, economic, and health-related outcomes over the life course. Resilience is a known protective factor. This study examines the associations of adverse childhood experiences and resilience with poor mental health outcomes among homeless adults with mental illness. This study utilized data from 565 homeless adults with mental illness participating in a Housing First intervention in Toronto (2009–2013) to evaluate their sociodemographic characteristics, adverse childhood experience exposure, resilience, and mental health outcomes. Descriptive statistics were generated, and logistic regression models were used to examine the association of total adverse childhood experience score and resilience with poor mental health outcomes. Analyses were conducted in 2019. The average total adverse childhood experience score was 4.1 (SD=2.8) among all study participants. Individuals with a lifetime duration of homelessness exceeding 36 months (p=0.011) had higher mean scores. Total score was positively associated with several mental illness diagnoses and psychopathology severity, indicated by co-occurring mental illness diagnoses (AOR=1.23, 95% CI=1.13, 1.33) and high Colorado Symptom Index scores (AOR=1.26, 95% CI=1.14, 1.38). Resilience served as a protective factor against several individual mental illness diagnoses, co-occurring mental illness diagnoses (AOR=0.85, 95% CI=0.76, 0.95), and high Colorado Symptom Index scores (AOR=0.69, 95% CI=0.61, 0.79). Findings highlight the high prevalence of adverse childhood experiences and their negative impact on homeless adults with mental illness. Resilience protects against adverse childhood experience–associated poor mental health outcomes, thereby serving as a potential interventional target in homeless populations.