Currently, e-cigarettes are the most popular tobacco product among adolescents. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and dual use in a sample of adolescents in Bangkok, Thailand. The sample comprises 6167 students from 48 schools (grades 9, 11, and vocational year 2) who participated in the 2019 round of the Behavior Surveillance Survey. History of 11 ACEs was used to calculate a cumulative ACE score (range 0-11). Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between history of ACEs and smoking. In the sample, 7.0% reported using e-cigarettes only and 9.5% used e-cigarettes and cigarettes (dual use). After controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, history of ACEs was associated with increased odds of dual use. The odds of cigarette, e-cigarette, and dual use was significantly greater if the adolescent had a history of ≥4 ACEs. Special attention is needed to prevent smoking of different types among those with a history of ACEs.

This study examined the relationship between exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and health in adolescents with high or low levels of resilience. Data came from the 2020 Bangkok Behaviour Surveillance Survey (BBSS). Multivariate logistic regression analyses examined associations between ACEs and health conditions overall, and for adolescents with low versus high resilience on the Grotberg’s Resilience Scale. Overall, 54.9% of adolescents reported 0 ACEs. Compared to adolescents with no ACEs, it was found that those with ≥ 1 ACE were more likely to experience insomnia, sadness, suicide attempt, depression, and excess alcohol consumption. Those with a history of four or more ACEs had worse mental health, higher total undesirable behaviour, and lower academic achievement. When the sample was divided into high resilience (60.2%) and low resilience (39.8%), having at least 1 ACEs (vs. 0 ACEs) was associated with worse mental health and undesirable behaviour in adolescents with low resilience. History of ACEs can predict adverse health conditions and undesirable behaviour among adolescents, and the strongest correlation is among adolescents with low resilience. Future studies are needed to develop strategies and interventions to increase adolescent resilience, and test whether improvements in resilience reduce the adverse impact of ACEs on adolescent mental/behavioural health.

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