Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can hinder children's involvement in recreational, social and other developmentally enriching activities, thereby limiting opportunities for healthy growth and wellbeing. This study examines the association between ACEs and children’s participation in out-of-school and community activities in the United States (U.S.). This cross-sectional study used parent-reported data of children aged 5 to 17 years from the 2022 National Survey of Children’s Health (N = 38,099). Four logistic regression models were employed to estimate the association between individual and cumulative ACEs and children'sparticipation in out-of-school and community activities. The findings showed that individual ACEs (i.e., economic hardship, parental divorce/separation, parental death, household mental illness, and discrimination) were significantly associated with lower odds of children’s participation in out-of-school activities. Similarly, cumulative ACEs were significantly associated with lower odds of children’s participation in out-of-school activities. On the other hand, individual ACEs (i.e., economic hardship and parental divorce/separation) were associated with lower odds of children’s participation in community activities. However, being a victim or having witnessed neighborhood violence was associated with higher odds of participating in community activities before and after covariate adjustment in the models. However, after controlling for other factors, cumulative ACEs were not significantly associated with children’s participation in community activities. Therefore, this study underscores the need for trauma-informed, inclusive programs that can be used to support and promote resilience and equitable access to recreational facilities for children in resource-constrained settings in the U.S. Implications for practice and policy are further discussed.
Chipalo et al. (Fri,) studied this question.