Description

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have been recognized across several studies to predict academic problems and hinder engagement among students under and over 18. Additionally, ACEs have also been known to disproportionately affect minority or non-White populations. Some research has shown race/ethnic differences in the impact of ACEs on academic achievement, where students of color report higher ACE scores and lower achievement and GPA compared to their White counterparts. However, the research on the relationship between ACEs and academic engagement is limited in these populations and has not been well explored. The present study investigates whether ACEs impact academic engagement among Multiethnic and non-White students. We hypothesize that Multiracial and non-White students with ACEs will report lower engagement in college compared to Multiracial and non-White students that do not have ACEs as compared to White students. Participants (N=929) from San Diego State University completed self-report measures including the ACEs questionnaire and questions associated with academic engagement. A two-way ANOVA indicated that the presence of ACEs (yes/no) do not significantly impact academic engagement in Multiracial and non-White students (p = .431). A second two-way ANOVA also indicated that ACEs on a 0-4+ scale do not significantly impact academic engagement (p = .122), however, the results show that Multiracial and non-White students report lower engagement than White students across all categories, with the exception of three ACEs. The current study’s results highlight the racial/ethnic differences in the impact and effect of ACEs on academic engagement among college students.