Examining the Impact of High Adverse Childhood Experiences on Spirituality In Emerging Adults

Background and Purpose: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are a critical social determinant of health with profound implications for practice, social justice, policy, and equity in social work. Although ACEs are known to influence long-term psychological and relational outcomes, their impact on spirituality, a developmental resource connected to identity formation, cultural meaning-making, and resilience, remains underexamined. This study advances social work knowledge by investigating whether experiencing three or more ACEs predicts lower spirituality among emerging adults, with attention to racial equity and structural conditions that shape childhood adversity. Informed by psychodynamic theory and trauma-informed frameworks, the study tests the hypothesis that higher ACE exposure is associated with lower spirituality, even after accounting for demographic and religious factors.

Methods: Using secondary data from the Spiritual Practices on Emerging Adult Mental Health (SPEAM) project, the study analyzed responses from 1,613 emerging adults aged 18-30 across three populations: Native American, Latter-day Saints, and general U.S. participants. Quota sampling ensured representation aligned with U.S. racial/ethnic distributions and supported equity-focused research aims. Participants completed an online Qualtrics survey assessing ACEs, spirituality, religiosity, and demographics. ACEs were measured using the 10-item ACE-Q (α = 0.88), and participants were categorized into two groups based on ACE exposure: 0-2 ACEs versus 3+ exposures. Spirituality was measured using the Attitudes Related to Spirituality Scale (ARES; α = 0.94). Multivariate linear regression examined associations between ACE exposure and spirituality, controlling for religiosity, gender, age, and race/ethnicity. Analyses were conducted in STATA19.

Results: The sample was 51.7% female with a mean age of 25.23 years (SD = 3.44); 36.7% reported three or more ACEs. The sample was racially diverse (65.5% White, 16.2% Black, 10.8% Hispanic/Latinx, and 7.6% Native American/Pacific Islander). The multivariate regression model was statistically significant, F(5, 762) = 24.21, p < .001, explaining 13.7% of the variance in spirituality. After adjusting for covariates, ACE exposure remained a significant predictor (B = 0.27, p < .001), indicating that individuals with 0–2 ACEs reported higher spirituality than those with three or more ACEs. Religiosity was also a significant predictor (B = −0.31, p < .001), indicating that higher levels of religious practice were associated with lower scores on the spirituality measure. Gender and race/ethnicity were not significant predictors.

Conclusion and Implications: Findings suggest that adverse childhood experiences are associated with lower spirituality in emerging adulthood, highlighting the importance of trauma-informed and developmentally responsive social work practice. The significant role of religiosity further underscores the need to distinguish between religious practice and internalized spirituality when supporting trauma-exposed populations. These results point to the value of integrating meaning-making and spiritually attuned approaches into interventions while also addressing structural conditions that shape exposure to adversity. Future research should continue to examine how cultural, developmental, and contextual factors influence spirituality among diverse emerging adult populations.