Citation

Lui PSC, Dunne MP, Baker P, Isom V. Asia Pac. J. Public Health 2018; 30(6): 582-591.

Affiliation

Solomon Islands National University, Honiara, Solomon Islands.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1010539518792911

PMID

30132341

Abstract

Compared with many parts of the world, there has been little research in Pacific Island nations into the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on adult health. This is a significant gap for local evidence-based child protection. We describe findings from a survey of 400 men aged 18 to 70 years recruited from randomly sampled households in Honiara city, Solomon Islands. Most men reported multiple adversities during childhood (80.7% 3 or more; 46% 5 or more), such as exposure to community and domestic violence, bullying, physical maltreatment, and sexual abuse. Men with multiple ACEs had significantly lower well-being and more psychological distress, recent stressful life events, and health risk behaviors. This study reports the first observation that betel quid chewing increased as a function of multiple ACEs. In comparison with recent East Asian studies, the Solomon Islands data suggest that the collective geographic category of "Asia-Pacific" masks significant intraregional differences in childhood adversities.

Language: en

Keywords

Solomon Islands; adverse childhood experiences; males; mental health; risk behavior