Adverse childhood experiences, family relationship and generalized anxiety in the youth population in Hong Kong

Abstract

IntroductionAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are shown to be risk factors for developing anxiety later in life. However, one’s family relationship acts as a protective factor between ACEs and anxiety.ObjectivesThe present study examines the interaction between ACEs and family relationship and their effect on generalized anxiety (GA) amongst the youth population in Hong Kong.MethodsParticipants aged 15-24 were recruited from a population-based epidemiological study in Hong Kong. GA in the past two weeks was assessed using GAD-7, while ACEs were measured using the childhood section of Composite International Diagnostic Interview screening scales (CIDI-SC), encompassing parental psychopathology, physical, emotional, sexual abuse, and neglect before age 17. Family relationship was measured by the Brief Family Relationship Scale (BFRS). Linear regression and a two-way ANCOVA were conducted to examine the association between ACEs, family relationship and GA, while adjusted for age and gender.Results633 (70.7%) out of 895 participants had any ACEs. ACEs significantly predicted GAD-7 scores (Β=1.272, t(891)=4.115, p