Adverse childhood experiences are associated with many negative consequences, which can occur in individuals even many years after the negative experience. In the present work, the author examines the links between adverse childhood experiences, self-control and self-esteem in adulthood. The master thesis reviews the literature and past research on the topic. This is followed by the study results, which involved 156 participants, 57 men and 99 women. The average age of the participants was 37 years. The data collection started with demographic questions, followed by the ACE International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ), the Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE). The study showed statistically significant correlations between the frequency of adverse childhood experiences in general and of neglect and emotional and physical abuse with self-control; namely, the higher the frequency of negative experiences in childhood, the lower the self-control in adulthood. A statistically significant correlation between the frequency of sexual abuse and self-control is not confirmed. The study also showed that there are statistically significant correlations between the frequency of adverse childhood experiences in general and neglect and emotional abuse with self-esteem; namely, the higher the frequency of adverse experiences in childhood, the lower the self-esteem in adulthood. The results did not confirm a statistically significant correlation between the frequency of physical abuse and self-esteem nor between the frequency of sexual abuse and self-esteem. A positive correlation between self-control and self-esteem was also statistically significant. The study showed no statistically significant difference in self-control between those who had lived with an alcoholic or drug-using member in childhood and those who had not. Still, it did show a statistically significant difference in self-esteem between those who had a history of being the child of divorced or separated parents and those who had not.
|