Doctor of Social Work Capstone Reports

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Browsing Doctor of Social Work Capstone Reports by Subject "Adverse childhood experiences"

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    Prevalance of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Veterans Seeking PTSD Treatment at a Veteran's Affairs Medical Center
    (2025) Anderson, Matthew G.; Alameda-Lawson, Tania; Nosen, Elizabeth
    Background: In the past thirty years, public health research has demonstrated a dose-response relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and poor health outcomes across the lifespan. In 2014, researchers observed U.S. men who had any history of military service had a higher-level frequency of all 11 adverse childhood experiences compared to U.S. men without a history of military service (Blosnich, et al., 2014). Objective: This study examines the prevalence of ACEs and its correlation with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms in a sample population of 92 Veterans referred to a PTSD clinical team between 2022-2024. Methods: This study used retrospective data from medical records of 92 Veterans referred to a PTSD clinical team from 2022-2024 at a Veteran’s Administration Medical Center (VAMC) in the state of Mississippi. Data were collected via the traditional 10-item ACE Questionnaire (Felliti et al., 1998), the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5), and the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PAC-5) (Weathers, et al., 2013). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlational approaches. Results: The study included a total of 92 veterans, 76 of whom self-identified as male and 16 as female. Of these 92 veterans, 52 self-identified as Black, 37 as Caucasian, and 3 had no race recorded in the medical record. Overall, Veterans reported an average of 3 adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), with 76.1% reporting one ACE, 57.6% reporting two ACEs. These trends are notably higher compared to the 50% and 25%, respectively, found in the original sample examined in the ACE study conducted by Felitti, et al. (1998). Conclusions: This study did fine higher frequency of ACE for Veterans included in this sample population, compared to the original ACE study by Felitti, et al. (1998), or among other samples of Veterans (Blosnich, et al., 2014). Unlike others in comparable studies, Woodridge, et al., 2020, this study did not find any significant correlation between the number of ACEs reported by this sample and the reported PTSD symptoms when examining measurements obtained during intake. This paper discusses the possible need to expand the consideration of childhood exposure to community-based adversity as having a similar influence on long-term health outcomes like those factors found in the original ACE study by Felittii, et al. (1998). In 2015, researchers found when studying population samples, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, suggest childhood environmental and community experiences beyond the original ACE questionnaires may need to be considered by as significant regarding their influence on healthcare outcomes across the lifespan (Cronholm, et al., 2015). This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the G.V. Sonny Montgomery Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center, in Jackson, Mississippi (1782395-1). This study was also approved by the University of Alabama’s Institutional Review Board (24-05-7632).