The relationship between adverse childhood experiences and adult well-being

Abstract

The norm in South Africa seems to be that ACEs happen unexpectedly, however, the impact on adult's mental wellbeing can be minimalised, even prevented if the community can be empowered with knowledge about ACEs. Since the 1900s, ACEs are described as developmental and emotional problems in children, health risk behaviours among adolescents and challenging psychological and physical illnesses among adults. The study focuses on ACEs and the snowballing effect it has on adult's mental wellbeing. The study is described as a cross sectional - descriptive correlation study which will be implemented in a South Africa context. The data will be gathered through a quantitative approach; a survey which focuses on demographic factors of a general population (Facebook users), their ACE scores compared with the WEMWBS mental wellbeing scale, to determine if ACEs can affect your adult mental wellbeing.