PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES OF ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES AND RESILIENCE ON THE MENTAL WELLBEING OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN OYE LGA, EKITI STATE

Abstract

The study examines the psychological effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and psychological resilience on mental well-being of secondary school students in Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State Nigeria. The sample consisted of 200 students (51.5% male and 48.5% female) between the ages of 12 to 25. It was found that 51.5% of the respondents had both parents working actively and 52% of respondents were living with one to three persons in their house. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between exposure to ACEs and poor mental health outcomes (r = 0.39, p < 0.01), meaning that the more exposure to adversity students had, the worse their mental health related outcomes were reported. In contrast, there was a positive correlation between resilience and mental health (r = 0.54, p < 0.01). Gender differences were observed with the male students reporting marginally higher mental wellbeing (Mean = 86.37) than the female students (Mean = 83.66). The regression analysis also showed that the blend of ACEs and resilience explained 33% of the variance in mental wellbeing (R² = 0.33, F = 49.41, p < 0.05) with resilience having a higher predictive power as compared to ACEs (β = 0.46, β = 0.23, respectively). The results showed the importance of stress and resilience factors on the mental health of adolescents and the necessity of targeting interventions to build resilience, especially among adolescent females.