examining adverse childhood experiences in a first nations treatment-seeking population
abstract
experiencing adversity during childhood can disrupt typical developmental pathways and
consequently affect health outcomes throughout the lifespan (norman et al., 2012), particularly
for indigenous populations in canada as they tend to experience greater health disparities when
compared to non-indigenous populations (statistics canada, 2018a). to better understand these
relationships within indigenous populations, the first nations ace study examined adverse
childhood experiences (aces) in a first nations population seeking substance use treatment,
including participant-reported aces and health outcomes of parents and grandparents using a
community-based participatory approach. regression models assessed the relationship among
ace scores and subsequent health outcomes reported by 141 individuals in an on-reserve
residential treatment program. higher reported ace scores were significantly associated with an
increased number of health concerns. some study hypotheses were not supported despite being
supported with prior literature. odds ratios of increased prevalence of specific diseases were not
significant, however trended in expected directions. parent and grandparent aces and residential
school attendance were not significantly related to increased health concerns by participants,
although were associated with parenting difficulties. future research with a larger sample size
may increase the power of analyses to detect clinically and statistically-relevant relationships
among these groups. when participant and staff experiences with first nations ace study were
examined, participants generally reported positive experiences with the study, and staff members
reporting satisfaction with the cbpr practices embedded within the study.