Document Type
Thesis
First Advisor
Lisa Gassin
Publication Date
Spring 5-2023
Scholarship Domain(s)
Scholarship of Discovery
Abstract
Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are known to predict negative health and mental health effects later in life. One in two Americans has experienced at least one ACE. This issue is prevalent across class, race, and ethnicity. However, little is known about ACEs and the young adult population.
Methods: A survey was conducted to measure ACEs and self-esteem in fifty college students. The hypothesis was a negative correlation between ACE and self-esteem scores.
Results: A small negative correlation was found between ACEs and self-esteem in college students. The average ACE score was 3.9 and the average self-esteem score was 16.78. A one-tailed Pearson correlation coefficient test was run. A significant correlation was not found between ACE score and self-esteem, r(48) = -0.23, p = 0.06. Therefore, the hypothesis is not supported because not enough evidence was found to do so.
Conclusions: A trend in the data showed a small negative correlation between ACEs and self-esteem in college students. Although the findings in this study were not statistically significant, this does not mean that ACEs do not have an impact on self-esteem. This study lacked the power to detect it.
Recommended Citation
Van Heemst, Maggie, "The Effect of Adverse Childhood Experiences on the Self-Esteem of College Students" (2023). Honors Program Projects. 140.
https://digitalcommons.olivet.edu/honr_proj/140
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.