Assessment of the Association between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Self-Esteem in a Sample of Teenage Students in Nigeria
Osita Victor Ossai1*
1Department of Childhood Education, Faculty of Education, University of Johannesburg, B-Ring 3, Auckland Park Campus, Johannesburg 2006, Gauteng, South Africa.
*Correspondence: Osita V. Ossai, Department of Childhood Education, Faculty of Education, University of Johannesburg, South Africa (Email: ositao@uj.ac.za)
Abstract: This study explored the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the self-esteem of teenage students in Nigeria. The study was conducted using a correlational survey design. Using a purposive sampling procedure, 30 junior secondary school students were selected from four public junior schools in Nsukka Metropolis, Enugu State, Nigeria. A researcher-structured questionnaire was used to assess whether students in four schools in the metropolis had been exposed to ACEs. A 10-item instrument‑ the Adverse Childhood Experience Questionnaire (ACE‑Q) by Felitti et al. (1998) and a self-report scale‑ Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) (Rosenberg, 1965) were adopted to collect data on the students’ ACEs and self-esteem respectively. Results showed that there is a moderate negative relationship between adverse childhood experiences and students’ self-esteem (R = -.484). The coefficient of determination (.234) shows the variation in students’ self-esteem due to adverse childhood experiences. Furthermore, the results showed that gender has a low moderating effect on the association of ACEs with self-esteem among students (R = -.485). It was recommended, among others, that the government should ensure that policies are formulated to reduce the incidence of ACEs and the harms associated with ACEs when they occur. It is important that schools provide adequate counselling services to students who have low self-esteem as a result of ACEs. Teachers and school psychologists should also make a conscious effort to give adequate social and psychological support to children who are prone to low self-esteem as a result of prior exposure to ACEs.
Keywords: ACEs, Childhood Experiences, Gender, Self-esteem, Teenage students
References
Bellis, M. A., Hughes, K., Ford, K., Rodriguez, G. R., Sethi, D., & Passmore, J. (2019). Life course health consequences and associated annual costs of adverse childhood experiences across Europe and North America: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Public Health, 4(10), e517-e528. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(19)30145-8
Blodgett, C., & Lanigan, J. D. (2018). The association between adverse childhood experience (ACE) and school success in elementary school children. School Psychology Quarterly, 33(1), 137-146. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000256
Cherry, K. (2018). Correlation studies in psychology research: determining the relationship between two or more variables. VerywellMind. https://www.verywellmind.com/correlational-research-
Daines, C. L., Hansen, D., Novilla, M. L. B., & Crandall, A. (2021). Effects of positive and negative childhood experiences on adult family health. BMC Public Health, 21(1), Article No. 651. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10732-w
Doi, S., Isumi, A., & Fujiwara, T. (2022). Association between maternal adverse childhood experiences and child resilience and self-esteem: Results from the K-CHILD study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 127, 105990. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105590
Eseadi, C., Anyanwu, J. I., Ogbuabor, S. E., & Ikechukwu-Ilomuanya, A. B. (2016). Effects of cognitive restructuring intervention program of rational-emotive behavior therapy on adverse childhood stress in Nigeria. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 34, 51-72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-015-0229-4
Folayan, M. O., Oginni, O., Arowolo, O., & El Tantawi, M. (2020). Internal consistency and correlation of the adverse childhood experiences, bully victimization, self-esteem, resilience, and social support scales in Nigerian children. BMC Research Notes, 13, Art. No. 331. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-020-05174-3
French, K. A., Drummond, L., & Storey, R. (2022). Childhood psychological maltreatment and work–family conflict throughout adulthood: A test of self-concept and social mechanisms. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 27(3), 267-285. https://org/doi/10.1037/ocp0000329
Gomis-Pomares, A., & Villanueva-Badenes, M. L. (2020). The effect of adverse childhood experiences on deviant and altruistic behavior during emerging adulthood. Psicothema. 32(1), 33-39. https://org/doi/10.7334/psicothema2019.142
Hillis, S., Mercy, J., Amobi, A., & Kress, H. (2016). Global prevalence of past-year violence against children: a systematic review and minimum estimates. Pediatrics, 137(3),e20154079 https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2015-4079
Jones, M. S., Pierce, H., & Shafer, K. (2022). Gender differences in early adverse childhood experiences and youth psychological distress. Journal of Criminal Justice, 83, 101925. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2022.101925
Kanatsouli, M. (2021). " Memories can't possibly be so misleading": Danilo Kiš's childhood years in early sorrows. Children's Literature Association Quarterly, 46(2), 140-159 https://doi.org/10.1353/chq.2021.0025
Khodabandeh, F., Khalilzadeh, M., & Hemati, Z. (2018). The impact of adverse childhood experiences on adulthood aggression and self-esteem-a study on male forensic clients. Novelty in Biomedicine, 6(2), 85-91.
Kim, Y., Lee, H., & Park, A. (2022). Patterns of adverse childhood experiences and depressive symptoms: self-esteem as a mediating mechanism. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 57, 331-341. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-021-02129-2
Lawal, O. T., & Abdulmalik, J. O. (2020). Adverse childhood experiences and psychosocial wellbeing among preclinical medical students of The University of Ibadan. African Journal of Biomedical Research, 23(SE1), 47-52.
Liu, J., Guo, T., Han, B., Cheng, X., Qu, S., Wang, R., ... & Jin, L. (2023). Adverse childhood experiences and human immunodeficiency virus testing among adults with human immunodeficiency virus risk behaviours. Stress and Health, [Online First]. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.3262
Merrick, M. T., Ports, K. A., Ford, D. C., Afifi, T. O., Gershoff, E. T., & Grogan-Kaylor, A. (2017). Unpacking the impact of adverse childhood experiences on adult mental health. Child Abuse & Neglect, 69, 10-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.03.016
Narayan, A. J., Lieberman, A. F., & Masten, A. S. (2021). Intergenerational transmission and prevention of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Clinical Psychology Review, 85, 101997. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2021.101997
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton University Press.
Rytilä-Manninen, M. (2018). Adverse Childhood Experiences, Psychopathology, and Self-Harming Behavior: A study of Finnish adolescent inpatients and their age-and gender-matched non-referred controls. (Unpublished Doctoral Thesis), Tampere University. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-0831-5
Shah, S. M., Al Dhaheri, F., Albanna, A., Al Jaberi, N., Al Eissaee, S., Alshehhi, N. A., ... & Betancourt, T. S. (2020). Self-esteem and other risk factors for depressive symptoms among adolescents in United Arab Emirates. PloS One, 15(1), e0227483. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227483
Shattnawi, K. K., Al Ali, N., & Ma’abreh, Y. L. M. (2022). Prevalence of adverse childhood experiences and their relationship with self-esteem among school-age children in Jordan. Child Psychiatry & Human Development [Online First]. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-022-01378-9
Sheffler, J. L., Stanley, I., & Sachs-Ericsson, N. (2020). ACEs and mental health outcomes. In: Adverse childhood experiences (pp. 47-69). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-816065-7.00004-5
Silverstein, S. M., Rivera, J., Gainer, D., & Daniulaityte, R. (2023). ‘Things that you can't really suppress': Adverse childhood experiences in the narratives of people with opioid use disorder. SSM-Mental Health, 3, 100185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2022.100185
Zhang, X., Li, C. & Ma, W. (2022). The direct and indirect effects of adverse childhood experiences on depressive symptoms and self-esteem of children: Does gender make a difference? International Journal of Mental Health & Addiction, [Online First]. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-022-00871-5
Publication date:
DOI
License
Vol
Issue
Page Number
How to cite:
Ossai, O.V. (2023). Assessment of the Association between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Self-Esteem in a Sample of Teenage Students in Nigeria. International Journal of Home Economics, Hospitality and Allied Research, 2(1), 44-55. https://doi.org/10.57012/ijhhr.v2n1.004