Profiles of adverse childhood experiences and impulsivity

The influence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which often include childhood exposure to maltreatment and household dysfunction, on health risk behaviors during young adulthood has been widely documented. A vulnerability marker for the increased risky behaviors among young ACEs victims such as impulsivity remains to be explored. The present study investigated how different profiles of ACEs influence impulsivity in young adulthood. Respondents were young people (N = 336; ages 18-25) who were recruited from the community. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify subpopulations of individuals based on varying exposure to 13 types of ACEs, including childhood maltreatment, household dysfunction, and community violence. Four distinct classes emerged: Low ACEs (56%), Household Dysfunction/Community Violence (14%), Emotional ACEs (14%), and High/Multiple ACEs (16%). Multiple regression analyses found that compared to those in the Low ACEs class, young adults in the Emotional ACEs and High/Multiple ACEs respectively, reported increased levels of negative urgency, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and other impulsivity traits. This result suggests that childhood exposure to multiple ACEs at high levels is particularly related to impulsive self-control in the context of intense negative emotionality.