Adolescents’ academic achievement, mental health, and adverse behaviors: Understanding the role of resilience and adverse childhood experiences

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and health in adolescents with high or low levels of resilience. Data came from the 2020 Bangkok Behaviour Surveillance Survey (BBSS). Multivariate logistic regression analyses examined associations between ACEs and health conditions overall, and for adolescents with low versus high resilience on the Grotberg’s Resilience Scale. Overall, 54.9% of adolescents reported 0 ACEs. Compared to adolescents with no ACEs, it was found that those with ≥ 1 ACE were more likely to experience insomnia, sadness, suicide attempt, depression, and excess alcohol consumption. Those with a history of four or more ACEs had worse mental health, higher total undesirable behaviour, and lower academic achievement. When the sample was divided into high resilience (60.2%) and low resilience (39.8%), having at least 1 ACEs (vs. 0 ACEs) was associated with worse mental health and undesirable behaviour in adolescents with low resilience. History of ACEs can predict adverse health conditions and undesirable behaviour among adolescents, and the strongest correlation is among adolescents with low resilience. Future studies are needed to develop strategies and interventions to increase adolescent resilience, and test whether improvements in resilience reduce the adverse impact of ACEs on adolescent mental/behavioural health.