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Table 3 Prevalence of each adverse experience in the sample and individuals with different adverse childhood experience counts, May to July 2018, Nsukka Nigeria

From: Adverse childhood experiences and psychological distress among higher education students in Southeast Nigeria: an institutional-based cross-sectional study

ACEs

All Samplec

 

N (%)

Mean

SD

Did you experience any of the following events before the age of 18 years?

 Household dysfunction

  Lived with someone who was mentally ill or suicidal

5 (2.5)

3.28

1.19

  Lived with a problem drinker or alcoholic

18 (8.9)

2.86

1.10

  Lived with someone who used illicit street drugs or abused prescription medications

3 (1.5)

2.62

1.06

  Lived with someone who was jailed or imprisoned for a crime

8 (3.9)

3.21

1.15

  Were your parents ever separated or divorced (parental separation)?

31 (15.3)

2.49

1.01

 Physical abuse

  Did your parents or adults in your home ever

   

  Slap, hit, kick, punch, or beat each other up?

114 (56.2)

3.10

1.20

  Hit, beat, kick, or physically hurt you in any way?

75 (36.9)

2.59

1.02

 Emotional abuse

  Scream or Swear at you, insult you or put you down?

144 (70.9)

2.57

0.98

 Sexual abuse

  Did anyone at least 5 years older than you (including adults)

   

  Ever touch you sexually?

73 (36.0)

2.47

0.99

  Try to make you touch them sexually?

57 (28.1)

2.28

0.87

  Force you to have sex?

42 (20.7)

2.17

0.75

 Emotional neglect

  Did your parents/guardians understand your problems and worries?a

16 (7.9)

4.28

1.23

  Did your parents/guardians really know what you were doing with your free time when you were not at school or work?a

36 (17.7)

3.92

1.34

 Physical neglect

  Did your parents/guardians not give you enough food even when they could easily have done so?

62 (30.5)

2.56

1.14

  Were your parents/guardians too drunk or intoxicated by drugs to take care of you?

18 (8.9)

2.08

0.62

  Did your parents/guardians not send you to school even when it was available?

25 (12.3)

2.12

0.72

 ACE counts

  0

27 (13.3)

2.33

1.11

  1

30 (14.8)

2.22

0.79

  2–3

62 (30.5)

2.15

0.68

  4+

84 (41.3)

2.29

1.13

 ACEs exposureb

  Yes

176 (86.7)

  No

27 (13.3)

  1. Note. aFor this question, it’s the “no” answer which scores a “1”; bACEs Exposure (Addition of 1, 2–3, and 4+ ACEs); cSample, Yes responses only except emotional neglect