Adverse childhood experiences of Korean mothers with young children: a latent class analysis

Figures & data

Figure 1. Flow diagram of the current study.

Table 1. Characteristics of the participants (n = 460).

Characteristics (possible range)	Mean ± SD (range)	N (%)
Age	33.74 ± 3.961 (24–47)
Primary caregiver
Mother		447 (97.2)
Others (father or grandparents)		13 (2.8)
Current working status
Working		160 (34.8)
Non-working		300 (65.2)
Education level
≤High school		84 (18.3)
College		221 (48.0)
≥University		155 (33.7)
Overall subjective health condition
Good		454 (98.7)
Bad		6 (1.3)
High-risk drinking
Yes		6 (1.3)
No		454 (98.7)
Smoking
Yes		8 (1.8)
No		452 (98.2)
Monthly family income
Low (<2210 USD)		72 (15.6)
Middle (2210–3680 USD)		298 (64.8)
High (>3680 USD)		90 (19.6)
Family type
≤Two-generation family		453 (98.5)
≥Three-generation family		7 (1.5)
Family formation
Infant/toddler		452 (98.3)
Infant/toddler + preschooler		8 (1.7)
Living region
Metropolis		213 (46.3)
Small city		218 (47.4)
Rural area		29 (6.3)
Life satisfaction
Satisfied		442 (96.1)
Dissatisfied		18 (3.9)
Suicidal thoughts
Yes		13 (2.8)
No		447 (97.2)
Depression (11–44)	15.36 ± 4.538 (11–40)
Self-esteem (10–40)	30.73 ± 3.638 (20–40)
Social support (6–36)	27.10 ± 3.780 (12–36)
Parenting stress (5–20)	10.18 ± 3.440 (5–19)
Child abuse (0–14)	0.38 ± 0.838 (0–8)
Workplace violence perpetration (4–12)	4.20 ± 0.770 (4–12)
Workplace violence victimization (4–12)	4.48 ± 1.180 (4–12)

Note: 1 USD = 1350 KRW.

Table 2. Results of adverse childhood experiences.

Subdomains of adverse childhood experiences (possible score range)	Mean ± SD (range)
Relationship with parents/guardians (neglect) (0–2)	0.97 ± 0.272 (0–2)
Household dysfunction (0–5)	0.28 ± 0.478 (0–4)
Emotional/physical/sexual abuse (0–3)	0.41 ± 0.643 (0–3)
Peer violence (0–1)	0.28 ± 0.359 (0–1)
Witnessing community violence (0–1)	0.25 ± 0.271 (0–1)
Collective violence (0–1)	0.01 ± 0.079 (0–1)

Table 3. Model fit indices for latent class groups of adverse childhood experiences.

Classes	AIC	BIC	aBIC	Entropy	H0 likelihood value	LMRT p-Value	BLRT p-Value
Total (n = 460)
2	−2048.703	−1970.210	−2030.510	0.935	1043.351	.0139	<.001
3	−2308.479	−2201.067	−2283.584	0.915	1180.239	.1261	<.001
4	−2595.791	−2459.461	−2564.193	0.958	1330.896	.1242	<.001
5	−2921.837	−2756.588	−2883.537	0.977	1500.919	.4078	<.001

Note: AIC = Akaike Information Criterion, BIC = Bayesian Information Criterion, aBIC = sample size adjusted Bayesian Information Criterion, LMRT = Lo–Mendell–Rubin Adjusted Likelihood Ratio Tests, BLRT = Bootstrap Likelihood Ratio Tests.

Table 4. Differences in adverse childhood experiences between the latent class groups.

Adverse childhood experiences	Total Mean (SD)	Group 1 Low-ACEs Mean (SD)	Group 2 High-ACEs Mean (SD)	t (p)
Adverse childhood experiences	2.21 (1.445)	1.73 (0.85)	4.85 (1.19)	−20.992 (.000)
Relationship with parents/guardian (neglect)	0.97 (0.272)	0.96 (0.24)	1.05 (0.39)	−2.007 (.048)
Household dysfunction	0.28 (0.478)	0.17 (0.33)	0.91 (0.65)	−9.348 (.000)
Emotional/physical/sexual abuse	0.41 (0.643)	0.19 (0.32)	1.68 (0.52)	−23.362 (.000)
Peer violence	0.28 (0.359)	0.22 (0.32)	0.58 (0.43)	−6.651 (.000)
Witnessing community violence	0.25 (0.271)	0.19 (0.23)	0.57 (0.24)	−12.554 (.000)
Collective violence	0.01 (0.079)	0.01 (0.03)	0.06 (0.18)	−2.421 (.018)

Table 5. Differences in participants’ characteristics between the latent class groups.

Characteristics	Low-ACEs group Mean ± SD or N (%)	High-ACEs group Mean ± SD or N (%)	t/x^2 (p)
Age	33.94 ± 3.870	32.63 ± 4.294	6.543 (.011)
Primary caregiver
Mother	377 (96.7)	70 (100.0)	2.401 (.121)
Others	13 (3.3)	0 (0.0)
Monthly family income
Low (<2210 USD)	61 (15.6)	11 (15.7)	0.319 (.853)
Middle (2210–3680 USD)	251 (64.4)	47 (67.2)
High (>3680 USD)	78 (20.0)	12 (17.1)
Current working status
Working	146 (37.4)	14 (20.0)	6.112 (.014)
Non-working	244 (62.6)	56 (80.0)
Education level
≤High school	70 (17.9)	14 (20.0)	1.587 (.452)
College	184 (47.2)	37 (52.9)
≥University	136 (34.9)	19 (27.1)
Family type
≤Two-generation family	383 (98.2)	70 (100.0)	1.276 (.259)
≥Three-generation family	7 (1.8)	0 (0.0)
Family formation
Infant/toddler	385 (98.7)	67 (95.7)	3.133 (.077)
Infant/toddler + preschooler	5 (1.3)	3 (4.3)
Family characteristics	32.62 ± 4.203	31.70 ± 3.793	2.912 (.089)
Living region
Metropolis	176 (45.1)	37 (52.9)	2.794 (.247)
Small city	191 (49.0)	27 (38.6)
Rural areas	23 (5.9)	6 (8.6)
Overall health condition
Good	389 (99.7)	65 (92.9)	21.863 (.000)
Bad	1 (0.3)	5 (7.1)
High-risk drinking
Yes	4 (1.0)	2 (2.9)	1.546 (.228)
No	386 (99.0)	68 (97.1)
Smoking
Yes	8 (2.1)	0 (0.0)	1.461 (.371)
No	382 (97.9)	70 (100.0)
Life satisfaction
Satisfied	379 (97.1)	63 (90.0)	8.247 (.004)
Dissatisfied	11 (2.9)	7 (10.0)
Suicidal thoughts
Yes	5 (1.3)	8 (11.4)	22.249 (.000)
No	385 (98.7)	62 (88.6)
Depression	15.03 ± 4.370	17.20 ± 5.026	14.010 (.000)
Self-esteem	30.91 ± 3.601	29.73 ± 3.706	6.361 (.012)
Social support	27.14 ± 3.907	26.89 ± 2.986	0.276 (.600)
Parenting stress	9.87 ± 3.471	11.90 ± 2.693	21.664 (.000)
Child abuse	0.24 ± 0.532	1.17 ± 1.523	88.031 (.000)
Workplace violence perpetration	4.10 ± 0.486	4.71 ± 1.515	40.656 (.000)
Workplace violence victimization	4.35 ± 0.984	5.24 ± 1.765	36.972 (.000)

Note: If the number of N is less than 5, the Fisher’s exact test was performed. 1 USD = 1350 KRW.

Data availability statement

The data utilized for this study are available by request through the website of KIHASA Health and Welfare Data Portal at http://data.kihasa.re.kr/kihasa/kor/contents/ContentsList.html?rootId=2010001&menuId=2010117.