Table 1.
Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of adults with adverse childhood experiences; data from a Norwegian Counties Public Health Survey conducted in Agder, 2019 (N = 28,047).
| Characteristic |
Dysfunctional family environment n (%) |
Lack of trusted adult during childhood n (%) |
Struggle with bad memories n (%) |
Perceives childhood as difficult n (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 1,725 (13.2) | 2,802 (21.5) | 873 (6.7) | 841 (6.4) |
| Female | 3,008 (20.2) | 3,290 (22.1) | 1,696 (11.4) | 1,505 (10.1) |
| Age group | ||||
| 18–29 years | 1,077 (20.7) | 997 (19.1) | 641 (12.3) | 526 (10.1) |
| 30–39 years | 970 (21.6) | 1,040 (23.2) | 548 (12.2) | 514 (11.4) |
| 40–49 years | 1,062 (19.2) | 1,261 (22.8) | 534 (9.6) | 526 (9.5) |
| 50–59 years | 944 (16.9) | 1,308 (23.5) | 494 (8.8) | 474 (8.5) |
| 60–69 years | 505 (10.7 | 1,000 (21.2) | 256 (5.4) | 225 (4.8) |
| 70 years + | 175 (7.3) | 486 (20.2) | 96 (4.0) | 81 (3.3) |
| Parents divorced during childhood | ||||
| Yes, age <7 years | 1,038 (44.0) | 889 (37.7) | 623 (26.4) | 599 (25.3) |
| Yes, age 7–18 years | 1,201 (43.4) | 990 (35.8) | 559 (20.2) | 562 (20.3) |
| No | 2,476 (10.9) | 4,191 (18.4) | 1,381 (6.1) | 1,175 (5.2) |
| Marital status | ||||
| Single | 1,291 (21.3) | 1,626 (26.8) | 807 (13.3) | 760 (12.5) |
| Married/partner | 3,432 (15.7) | 4,451 (20.4) | 1,757 (8.0) | 1,582 (7.2) |
| Educational level | ||||
| Low | 696 (20.9) | 1,001 (30.3) | 468 (14.1) | 454 (13.6) |
| Medium | 1,847 (16.7) | 2,528 (22.9) | 1,088 (9.8) | 985 (8.9) |
| High | 1,067 (16.4) | 1,317 (20.3) | 524 (8.1) | 464 (7.1) |
| Highest | 1,105 (15.8) | 1,221 (17.5) | 476 (6.8) | 433 (6.2) |
| Financial difficulties | ||||
| Poor | 768 (32.6) | 923 (39.1) | 610 (25.8) | 548 (23.2) |
| Medium | 812 (25.6) | 962 (30.3) | 493 (15.5) | 432 (13.6) |
| No difficulty | 2,978 (14.1) | 3,923 (18.6) | 1,360 (6.4) | 1,267 (6.0) |
| Welfare Benefits | ||||
| Yes | 1,006 (31.4) | 1,180 (37.0) | 819 (25.6) | 702 (21.9) |