Historically, human beings and human behavior and health have been viewed through the lens of disease and dysfunction, rather than a lens of wellness and growth (Seligman, 2000). Mental health care and health care in general, still widely utilize the medical model, which focuses on illness (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). When examining mental health care and overall health, it is valuable to utilize a holistic approach that focuses on positive psychology and growth.
This exploratory, cross-sectional study utilizes a positive psychology approach and examines adverse childhood experiences (Felitti et al., 1998), psychological capital (Luthans, Youssef, & Avolio, 2007), and students’ subjective well-being and mental health (Keyes, 2002). Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are measured utilizing the adverse childhood experiences (ACE) questionnaire which is comprised of 10 yes or no questions and assesses traumatic events in childhood. The PsyCap consists of four measures which include Hope, Efficacy, Resilience, and Optimism (HERO), which are assessed through the PsyCap Questionnaire (PCQ) (Luthans, Luthans, & Jensen, 2012). Mental health and subjective well-being are measured utilizing Keyes Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) which includes a mental health score, well-being clusters, that include emotional, social, and psychological, and mental health categories that range from languishing to flourishing (Keyes, 2009).
The objectives of the study included evaluating the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACE), psychological capital, mental health, and well-being. Further objectives included to evaluate the relationship between psychological capital and mental health, to determine variability in psychological capital utilizing the adverse childhood experiences score as a predictor, and to determine variability in mental health and well-being by utilizing the ACE score as a predictor. Descriptive statistics, correlations, and one-way ANOVAs were utilized to explore and report research objectives. Results indicated ACE group 0-3 and total MHC-SF score were negatively correlated, with statistical significance. ACE group 0-3 and total PsyCap score had no correlation. Total PsyCap and total MHC-SF scores were positively correlated, and there was statistical significance.
The mean PsyCap score (M = 104.45, SD = 13.95) for ACE group 0-3 was higher than the mean PsyCap score (M = 101.80, SD = 15.28) of ACE group 4-10. Thus, the higher the ACE score, the lower the psychological capital score. The effect size as elucidated by Cohen’s d, is a small effect size (d = 0.18). The mean MHC-SF score (M = 46.49, SD = 14.16) for ACE group 0-3 was higher than the mean MHC-SF score (M = 38.05, SD = 15.04) of ACE group 4-10. The effect size as elucidated by Cohen’s d is a medium effect size (d = 0.58). These results align with research in the field that suggests higher ACEs are associated with negative physical and mental health outcomes. Based on the findings of this study, conclusions and recommendations are provided for counselors, counselor educators, counselor supervisors, healthcare providers, early educators and early interventionalists, and higher education administrators.