Adverse Childhood Experiences and Ethnic Identity in Asian Americans: Associations with Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress, Depression, Anxiety, and Binge Drinking.

Abstract

Asian Americans experience high rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) but are significantly underrepresented in ACEs research. Despite evidence indicating that ACEs contribute to increased psychological distress and substance use among minoritized emerging adults and that a strong sense of ethnic identity can mitigate these impacts, no study has exclusively examined these relationships among Asian Americans. This study investigated how (1) ACEs relate to symptoms of posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and binge drinking; and explored (2) the strength of ethnic identity as a moderator in this sample. Second-generation and one-and-a-half generation Asian Americans (N=199, aged 18-29, 53% East Asian, 30% South Asian, 17% Southeast Asian) were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk and a northeastern university in the U.S. to complete an online survey. Multivariate linear and binary logistic regressions revealed that ACEs significantly predicted higher symptoms of posttraumatic stress (B=3.00, p<.001), depression (B= 2.36, p< .001), and anxiety (B=1.33, p=.002), and an increased odds of binge drinking (OR=1.30, 95% CI [1.07, 1.58]). The strength of ethnic identity did not significantly moderate outcomes; however, stronger ethnic identity was independently significantly associated with lower anxiety symptoms (B= -2.89, p=.01). Among Asian American emerging adults, ACEs are associated with psychological distress and binge drinking. However, unlike in other minoritized groups, ethnic identity did not protect against these outcomes, suggesting the need to identify alternative culturally-relevant protective factors in Asian Americans.