Peer-reviewed article
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), peer victimization, and substance use among adolescents
Tracie O. Afifi, Tamara Taillieu, Samantha Salmon, Isabel Garcés Dávila, Ashley Stewart-Tufescu et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and peer victimization relate to substance use among Canadian adolescents aged 14-17 years. Three-quarters of the 1,002 young people surveyed had experienced at least one ACE, and nearly a quarter had experienced peer victimization monthly or more often. The research found that when adolescents experienced both ACEs and peer victimization together, their risk of substance use was significantly higher than those experiencing ACEs alone.
Key points
- 75.1% of adolescents had experienced at least one adverse childhood experience
- 24.1% experienced peer victimization on a monthly or more frequent basis
- All individual ACEs were associated with increased odds of substance use
- Cumulative effects were significant: experiencing both ACEs and peer victimization substantially increased odds of substance use compared to ACEs alone
- No significant interaction effects were found between ACEs and peer victimization, but their combined effect was cumulative
Limitations
As a cross-sectional survey, this study cannot establish causation or temporal relationships between ACEs, peer victimization, and substance use. The findings are limited to adolescents in Manitoba and may not generalise to other regions or age groups.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are common and related to substance use problems in adulthood. Less is known about these relationships in adolescence and if experiencing ACEs in addition to peer victimization (or bullying) would have an interaction or cumulative effect on the odds of adolescent substance use. METHOD: Data were used from the Well-Being and Experiences Study (The WE Study), a cross-sectional survey of adolescents aged 14-17 years (n = 1002) in Manitoba, Canada collected between July 2017 and October 2018. Statistical methods included descriptive statistics and logistic regression models. RESULTS: The prevalence of experiencing any of the 12 ACEs was 75.1 %. The prevalence of any peer victimization (monthly or more often) was 24.1 %. All individual ACEs were associated with increased odds of substance use. No significant interaction effects between ACEs and peer victimization on substance use were found. Significant cumulative effects were found, indicating that experiencing both ACEs and peer victimization, compared with experiencing ACEs only, significantly increased the odds of substance use among adolescents. CONCLUSION: The odds of substance use becomes significantly greater if the adolescent with a history of ACEs also experiences peer victimization. Further research aimed at effective prevention of ACEs, peer victimization, and substance use is needed.