New research by Bangor University and Public Health Wales has found that adults who suffered childhood adversities such as child maltreatment or living in a home with domestic violence, report lower engagement with healthcare services.  

Childhood experiences can influence health, wellbeing and behaviours across the life course, and exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can increase people’s risks of adopting health-harming behaviours and developing physical and mental ill-health.  

The research surveyed 1,696 adults in England and Wales and found that individuals who had suffered four or more ACE types were over two times more likely to report low comfort in using hospitals and GP and dental surgeries, than those with no ACEs. People reporting four or more ACEs were also over three times more likely to perceive that professionals do not care about their health or understand their problems. People with four or more ACEs were also one and a half times more likely to report that they were currently taking prescription medicines and to also report poor adherence to taking medication as instructed, than those with no ACEs.   

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