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Subjects

ACES, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Anxiety, Mindfulness, Dispositional Mindfulness, BIPOC, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Race, Ethnicity, Trauma, Childhood

Abstract

This study examined the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on anxiety and the protective role of dispositional mindfulness in BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) adults. Anxiety can be defined as a sense of distress, worry or nervousness of an unpredictable result. There is evidence that external factors play a pivotal role in BIPOC communities' risk for anxiety. ACEs have been utilized as important criteria when assessing childhood abuse and neglect. Dispositional mindfulness is considered to be adaptable and negatively related to ACEs and anxiety; however, little is known about these relationships in BIPOC communities. We hypothesized that ACEs will positively predict anxiety in a sample of BIPOC adults, and dispositional mindfulness will moderate the relationship between ACEs and anxiety. A cross-sectional survey and secondary analysis of a larger parent study of BIPOC adults was utilized (N = 171). Consistent with our prediction, ACEs positively predicted anxiety, and dispositional mindfulness negatively predicted anxiety. However, dispositional mindfulness did not significantly moderate the relationship between ACEs and anxiety. There are various gaps surrounding the interrelationship between ACEs and BIPOC communities. Further research encompassing the numerous interconnected aspects that make up an individual's experience must be researched in order to understand the impact of ACEs on BIPOC individuals.

DOI

10.15760/mcnair.2023.16.1.8

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/40264

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