Selected Teen-Reported Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Mental Health Care Use.

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Academic Pediatrics, 2026, v. 26, no. 2: Selected Teen-Reported Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Mental Health Care Use.
• Journal Article:
  Academic Pediatrics
• Personal Author:
  Ng, Amanda E. ; Tkach, Nicholas ; Black, Lindsey I. ; Alcalá, Héctor
• Description:
  Previous work has highlighted associations between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and mental health care use, but few studies use nationally representative data self-reported by teenagers.
  
  Data came from the cross-sectional National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)- Teen (July 2021-December 2023), an online follow-back survey of teenagers whose parents answered the child portion of the main NHIS. Multivariate logistic regression models estimated associations between selected ACEs and a summed ACEs score (four or more ACEs vs. three or less), and mental health care use in the past 12 months: 1) took prescription medication, 2) received therapy, and 3) unmet mental health care need due to 4) cost, 5) stigma, and 6) not knowing where to go, among teenagers aged 12-17 (N = 1677).
  
  One-tenth of teenagers (11.5%) had four or more selected ACEs. Around 15.2% of teenagers took prescription medication for their mental health in the past 12 months, while 18.7% received therapy. Having four or more ACEs (adjusted prevalence ratio, APR: 1.43, 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.02-2.01), being a victim or witnessing violence in the neighborhood (APR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.06-1.88), experiencing emotional abuse (APR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.12-2.02), and experiencing racism (APR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.10-1.94) were related to taking prescription medication. Most selected ACEs were related to higher prevalence of receiving therapy (eg, household mental illness, APR:1.97; 95% CI: 1.50-2.58).
  
  ACEs were related to greater use of mental health care and selected barriers for unmet mental health care need. Future work may examine the underlying mechanisms of these associations.
• Content Notes:
  Author manuscript
• Subjects:
  • Humans
  • Adolescent
  • Female
  • Male
  • Adverse Childhood Experiences
  • Child
  • Mental Health Services
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Logistic Models
  • Mental Disorders
  More +
• Keywords:
  • adverse childhood experiences
  • mental health
  • health care use
  • National Health Interview Survey
  • National Health Interview Survey - Teen
• Source:
  Academic Pediatrics, 2026, v. 26, no. 2
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2025.103159
• ISSN:
  1876-2859 ; 1876-2867
• Pubmed ID:
  41167461
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC12910357
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• Pages in Document:
  103159 (15 pdf pages)
• Volume:
  26
• Issue:
  2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/260975/cdc_260975_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 573.40 KB]
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:542e32892cf16122695f5bd199c3c5a9388da32755716b239200259484390663b3e84d0d8fb29af07e48309f3f9027d99f342ba3b37778766e5a93453e997d05