Associations between adverse childhood experiences, attitudes towards COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine hesitancy: a cross-sectional study

Bellis, Mark A and Hughes, Karen and Ford, Kat and Madden, Hannah C E and Glendinning, Freya and Wood, Sara (2022) Associations between adverse childhood experiences, attitudes towards COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine hesitancy: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 12 (2). e053915. ISSN 2044-6055

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Abstract

Objectives
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can affect life-course health and well-being, including risk-taking behaviour and trust. This study explored associations between ACEs and trust in health information on COVID-19, attitudes towards and compliance with COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine hesitancy.

Design
National cross-sectional telephone survey using a sample of landline and mobile numbers stratified by Health Board, deprivation quintile and age group.

Setting
Households in Wales during national COVID-19 restrictions (December 2020 to March 2021).

Participants
2285 Welsh residents aged ≥18 years.

Measures
Nine ACEs; low trust in National Health Service (NHS) COVID-19 information; supporting removal of social distancing and mandatory face coverings; breaking COVID-19 restrictions; and vaccine hesitancy (rejection or uncertainty of vaccination).

Results
Increasing ACE counts were independently related to low trust in NHS COVID-19 information, feeling unfairly restricted by government and ending mandatory face coverings. High ACE counts (4+ vs 0 ACEs) were also associated with supporting removal of social distancing. Breaking COVID-19 restrictions increased with ACE count with likelihood doubling from no ACEs to 4+ ACEs. Vaccine hesitancy was threefold higher with 4+ ACEs (vs 0 ACEs) and higher in younger age groups. Thus, modelled estimates of vaccine hesitancy ranged from 3.42% with no ACEs, aged ≥70 years, to 38.06% with 4+ ACEs, aged 18–29 years.

Conclusions
ACEs are common across populations of many countries. Understanding how they impact trust in health advice and uptake of medical interventions could play a critical role in the continuing response to COVID-19 and controlling future pandemics. Individuals with ACEs suffer greater health risks throughout life and may also be excluded from interventions that reduce infection risks. While pandemic responses should consider how best to reach those suffering from ACEs, longer term, better compliance with public health advice is another reason to invest in safe and secure childhoods for all children.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information and Comments:	© Author(s) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Education and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Matthew Adams
Date Deposited:	15 Dec 2022 09:54
Last Modified:	15 Dec 2022 09:54
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/3727

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