The Impact of Life and Adverse Childhood Events on Help-Seeking Behaviours-A Cross-Sectional Survey of School-Age Adolescents in Jordan.

Abstract

Traumatic life and childhood events are associated with adverse health outcomes, particularly for adolescents, who are vulnerable to such events and exhibit distinct health behaviours and needs. Nevertheless, the influence of exposure to these events on their help-seeking behaviour remains largely unexplored, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean region. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of adverse events among adolescents in Jordan and examine how adverse events shape the help-seeking behaviours.

Methods: A national cross-sectional survey of 4407 school-age (12-18 years) adolescents living in Jordan was conducted between December 2022 and April 2023 using multi-state stratified cluster sampling. The study utilised self-report questionnaires as well as validated tools. These were adapted to ensure cultural relevance and sensitivity and translated to Arabic.

Results: The prevalence of at least one adverse event is around 16%, while that of four or more ACEs stands at around 41% in our population. The most commonly reported event was being infected or having a family member infected with COVID-19 at 60.3%. Specific individual characteristics and traumatic events appeared to shape their help-seeking behaviour, particularly family affluence and smoking status as well as exposure to COVID-19.

Conclusions: The study underscores the need to understand help-seeking patterns among school-age adolescents in light of exposure to traumatic events. Based on this study's findings, special attention should be paid to the impact certain events have on adolescents' mental health and their help-seeking behaviours. Positive help-seeking behaviours that resonate with adolescents' beliefs, emphasising contextual factors in mental health coping, should be promoted.