A STUDY ON THE STATUS OF ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES OF COLLEGE STUDENTS IN GUANGXI UNIVERSITIES AND ITS CORRELATION WITH MENTAL HEALTH

Abstract

Objectives: To understand the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences(ACEs) among undergraduates in Guangxi colleges and universities, and the correlation between adverse childhood experiences(ACEs) and mental health. Methods: College students from 11 undergraduate colleges and universities in Guangxi were selected for an online questionnaire survey by convenience sampling. The Chinese version of the Adverse Childhood Experiences questionnaire (C-ACE-IQ) was used to measure college students' adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and SCL_90 was used to measure mental health. Results: The prevalence of ACEs was high in Guangxi college universities. There were significant differences between different types of ACEs in terms of gender, grade, whether they were only child, family type, place of birth, family economic status, and parents' education level, etc. ACEs were significantly and positively correlated with various factors of psychological symptoms among university students. Conclusion:  Screening for ACEs may help to identify students with mental health problems. Schools, families, and relevant departments of society should work together to help college students with ACEs and safeguard their physical and mental health.