Positive childhood experiences in mental health of young adults across adverse childhood experiences levels: A study from Delhi-NCR, India.

Background: While the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on adult health outcomes has received substantial scientific attention, the role of positive childhood experiences (PCEs) has far less widely been explored, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

Objective: The present study aimed to understand the association of exposure to cumulative and individual PCEs with current depression, anxiety, stress, and well-being among young adults in Delhi-NCR, India, independently and across ACE exposure levels.

Participants And Setting: This cross-sectional study involved 1553 young adults (aged 18-25) of both sexes (70.3 % females) residing in Delhi-NCR.

Methods: PCEs and ACEs were measured using the Benevolent Childhood Experiences scale and ACE- International Questionnaire, respectively. Depression, anxiety, stress, and well-being were screened using validated tools.

Results: In the overall analysis, exposure to PCEs was negatively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress and positively associated with well-being, even after accounting for ACEs. Feeling comfortable with oneself emerged as the most important PCE item with respect to studied mental health conditions. The stratified analysis showed that while the PCE score was associated only with depression (negatively) in the no ACE category, it was associated with all the studied outcome variables in higher ACE categories.

Conclusions: The study found PCEs to be associated with better mental health outcomes across varying ACE levels, with the protective effect being particularly pronounced in high ACE contexts. Promoting PCEs can help improve mental health outcomes and well-being despite adversities.