title: Associations of adverse childhood experiences with depression and alcohol abuse among Korean college students.
abstract: This study investigated adverse childhood experiences of Korean college students and the impact such experiences have on students' depression and alcohol abuse. Using an online questionnaire, 939 college students were surveyed regarding their adverse childhood experiences, depressive symptoms and alcohol use habits. About half of the participants claimed to have experienced at least one adversity in their childhood. Eight percent of participants reported experiencing four or more categories of adversity. The correlations between adverse childhood experiences and depressive symptoms, alcohol abusive behaviors, and the comorbid condition of the two outcomes were significant when students' gender, geographical regions, maternal and paternal education, and family incomes were adjusted. Graded associations of cumulated adverse childhood experiences with the outcome variables were evident. These findings strengthen the link between child maltreatment and adult public health issues carrying socioeconomic burdens, two matters that have not been extensively studied in Korean contexts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child & Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Kyung Hee University 26, Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 02447, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: yeonhakim@khu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Yeon Ha
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adverse childhood experiences; Alcohol abuse; College students; Depression; Korea