Adverse Childhood Experiences, Well-being, and Pandemic Coping Behaviors: A Quantitative Study about COVID-19 in a Dutch population

Background: The coronavirus pandemic had a direct impact on mental health, influencing well-being and the choice of coping behaviors used to face this unique life adversity. Adverse childhood experiences have been linked to specific choices of coping behaviors which could lead to poorer health outcomes, therefore worse well-being. Aim: Investigate whether adverse childhood experiences predict pandemic coping behaviors and if adverse childhood experiences moderate the relationship between pandemic coping behaviors and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: This study was part of the CONNECT study within the Netherlands, which is part of a larger international longitudinal collaboration from eleven countries in Europe (ADJUST study). The participants were recruited through social media platforms from July to November 2020. Sociodemographic data were gathered, along with the following questionnaires: Adverse Childhood Experiences questionnaire (ACE) to measure adverse...Show moreBackground: The coronavirus pandemic had a direct impact on mental health, influencing well-being and the choice of coping behaviors used to face this unique life adversity. Adverse childhood experiences have been linked to specific choices of coping behaviors which could lead to poorer health outcomes, therefore worse well-being. Aim: Investigate whether adverse childhood experiences predict pandemic coping behaviors and if adverse childhood experiences moderate the relationship between pandemic coping behaviors and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: This study was part of the CONNECT study within the Netherlands, which is part of a larger international longitudinal collaboration from eleven countries in Europe (ADJUST study). The participants were recruited through social media platforms from July to November 2020. Sociodemographic data were gathered, along with the following questionnaires: Adverse Childhood Experiences questionnaire (ACE) to measure adverse childhood experiences, Pandemic Coping Scale (PCS) to measure pandemic coping behaviors, and WHO-5 Well-being Index (WHO-5) to measure well-being. Descriptive analysis as well as a MANOVA and moderation analyses were performed. Results: The responses of 2,022 individuals were analyzed. The mean age of the participants was 36, females (70.4%), males (29.1%), and others (0.5%). The mean for adverse childhood experiences was 1.3 and most of the population was considered low risk (86.9%). The mean score for well-being was 13.1 and 22.4 for PCS scores, which indicate high scores in well-being and coping behaviors. The MANOVA showed a significant model equation (p = .040) and non-significant individual relationships between ACEs and each pandemic coping style (preventative actions, p = .73; healthy lifestyle, p = .929; daily structure, p = .784; joyful activities, p = .162). The moderation effect of ACE in the relationship between coping and well-being was not significant (p = .150). Conclusions: This study shows the relation between well-being, pandemic coping behaviors, and adverse childhood experiences during the current coronavirus pandemic, as well as an insight into the Dutch population's experience of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Further research is advised.Show less

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Adverse Childhood Experiences, Well-being, and Pandemic Coping Behaviors: A Quantitative Study about COVID-19 in a Dutch population