Associations between adverse childhood experiences, attitudes towards COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine hesitancy: a cross-sectional study (1 February 2022)

Summary

This study in the BMJ Open examines the links between between adverse childhood events and trust in Covid-19 health information, attitudes towards and compliance with Covid-19 restrictions and vaccine hesitancy.

The study found correlations between adverse childhood events and:

• low trust in NHS Covid-19 information
• feeling unfairly restricted by government
• supporting removal of social distancing and ending of mandatory face coverings
• breaking Covid-19 restrictions
• vaccine hesitancy.

The authors concluded that as adverse childhood events are common across many populations, there is a need to understand how they impact trust in health advice and uptake of medical interventions. This could play a critical role in the continuing response to Covid-19 and approaches to controlling future pandemics.

In addition, as individuals with adverse childhood events suffer greater health risks throughout life, better compliance with public health advice is another reason to invest in safe, secure childhoods for all children.