Temporal Trends and Social Inequalities in Adverse Childhood Experiences Among Children in the United States, 2016-2023.
4 affiliations
- 1School of Health Administration, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
- 2School of Population and Public Health, Human Early Learning Partnership, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
- 3Department of Sociology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
- 4Faculty of Medicine, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Abstract
Objective
Temporal changes in specific adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and related inequalities remain unclear. We examined trends and social inequalities in age-standardized ACE prevalence among US children from 2016 through 2023.Methods
Data were drawn from the National Survey of Children's Health (n = 309 425; ages 0-17 y). Age-standardized prevalence was estimated for 9 ACEs and 2 summary measures (any ACE and ≥4 ACEs). Differences in ACE prevalence were examined across key social and demographic characteristics, including children's sex, race and ethnicity, parental nativity, parental education, and family income.Results
From 2016 through 2023, the prevalence of financial hardship (from 25.3% to 13.8%), parental divorce (from 24.5% to 20.7%), parental imprisonment (from 7.9% to 5.6%), any ACE (from 46.0% to 37.4%), and ≥4 ACEs (from 6.1% to 4.8%) showed statistically significant declines (all P for trend < .001). In contrast, the prevalence of parental mental illness (from 7.8% to 8.3%) and race and ethnicity-related discrimination (ranging from 3.6% to 4.4%) increased modestly. Black children consistently had higher ACE prevalence than non-Hispanic White children, particularly for discrimination (ranging from 9.1% to 14.9%), financial hardship (from 17.5% to 36.2%), and parental imprisonment (from 9.4% to 15.8%) during 2016-2023. Racial and ethnic and nativity gaps in parental imprisonment and financial hardship narrowed over time, although substantial differences remained. Across all years, children from lower-income and lower-education families consistently experienced higher ACE prevalence than their more advantaged counterparts.Conclusions
Despite modest reductions in some ACEs, social differences in ACEs persisted over time. Findings highlight the continued concentration of ACEs among socioeconomically disadvantaged children, underscoring the need for structural and policy interventions targeting upstream social determinants.
Related
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BibTeX
@article{uddin2026temporal,
title = {{Temporal Trends and Social Inequalities in Adverse Childhood Experiences Among Children in the United States, 2016-2023.}},
author = {Jalal Uddin and Muhammad Zakir Hossin and Saleh Al Morshed Sadid and Campbell Smith and Drishti Deepchand and Mohammad Hajizadeh},
journal = {Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1177/00333549261488342},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42949415},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Temporal Trends and Social Inequalities in Adverse Childhood Experiences Among Children in the United States, 2016-2023.
AU - Jalal Uddin
AU - Muhammad Zakir Hossin
AU - Saleh Al Morshed Sadid
AU - Campbell Smith
AU - Drishti Deepchand
AU - Mohammad Hajizadeh
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
JO - Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974)
DO - 10.1177/00333549261488342
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42949415
AB - Objective Temporal changes in specific adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and related inequalities remain unclear. We examined trends and social inequalities in age-standardized ACE prevalence among US children from 2016 through 2023.Methods Data were drawn from the National Survey of Children's Health (n = 309 425; ages 0-17 y). Age-standardized prevalence was estimated for 9 ACEs and 2 summary measures (any ACE and ≥4 ACEs). Differences in ACE prevalence were examined across key social and demographic characteristics, including children's sex, race and ethnicity, parental nativity, parental education, and family income.Results From 2016 through 2023, the prevalence of financial hardship (from 25.3% to 13.8%), parental divorce (from 24.5% to 20.7%), parental imprisonment (from 7.9% to 5.6%), any ACE (from 46.0% to 37.4%), and ≥4 ACEs (from 6.1% to 4.8%) showed statistically significant declines (all P for trend < .001). In contrast, the prevalence of parental mental illness (from 7.8% to 8.3%) and race and ethnicity-related discrimination (ranging from 3.6% to 4.4%) increased modestly. Black children consistently had higher ACE prevalence than non-Hispanic White children, particularly for discrimination (ranging from 9.1% to 14.9%), financial hardship (from 17.5% to 36.2%), and parental imprisonment (from 9.4% to 15.8%) during 2016-2023. Racial and ethnic and nativity gaps in parental imprisonment and financial hardship narrowed over time, although substantial differences remained. Across all years, children from lower-income and lower-education families consistently experienced higher ACE prevalence than their more advantaged counterparts.Conclusions Despite modest reductions in some ACEs, social differences in ACEs persisted over time. Findings highlight the continued concentration of ACEs among socioeconomically disadvantaged children, underscoring the need for structural and policy interventions targeting upstream social determinants.
SN - 0033-3549
SN - 1468-2877
ER -