Silent Scars: Understanding Interpersonal Sensitivity, Paranoid Ideation and Hostility from Adverse Childhood Experiences in Jamaica

Rosemarie Johnson¹Elroy Galbraith²Roger Carl Gibson^1*Tracey-Ann Coley¹

• ¹University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica
• ²Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan

Abstract Background Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are known to predict adverse outcomes related to physical and mental health. How ACEs predict interpersonal sensitivity, paranoid ideation, and hostility, which are known to be associated with impaired interpersonal relationships, interpersonal conflict and violence, is less well researched. This study aimed to determine the extent to which the number and types of ACEs that individuals experienced were associated with these outcomes, and whether these relationships were moderated by the sociodemographic variables of age, sex, educational level and relationship status. Method The study used data from a survey of 1633 adult Jamaicans who constituted a non-probability sample. The survey consisted of sociodemographic items, as well as the Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ) and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R). Pearson's correlation analyses were used to assess the association between overall past ACEs and specific current interpersonal psychopathological vulnerabilities, namely interpersonal sensitivity, paranoid ideation, and hostility. Regression analyses were also used to determine which specific childhood adversities were associated with these vulnerabilities. Results Most participants (70.5%) reported having experienced at least four of the thirteen categories of ACEs explored in the ACE-IQ. There were positive correlations among the ACE-IQ and SCL-90-R subscales of interest (interpersonal sensitivity, paranoid ideation, and hostility), with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.249 to 0.770 (p < 0.001). Emotional abuse was the most commonly reported ACE (70.5%), followed by violence in the home (69.3%), and community violence (66.9%). Seven of the thirteen ACEs from the ACE-IQ were associated with all three mental health outcomes. Physical abuse had an inverse relationship with paranoid ideation, as did household alcohol or drug misuse with interpersonal sensitivity and hostility. The relationships between ACEs and the interpersonal psychopathological vulnerabilities were not moderated by the sociodemographic variables. Conclusions The number of ACEs (ACE-IQ score) was positively correlated with all three psychopathological outcomes. Many ACEs were associated with one or more of these outcomes. A few ACES exhibited an inverse relationship with either paranoid ideation or hostility and interpersonal sensitivity. These findings add new knowledge to an under-explored area and are discussed in relation to prior research, theory and practice.