Loss of control
“Past traumatic experiences can predispose someone to avoid things that remind them of that trauma. This avoidance protects them from re-experiencing the negative symptoms and behaviors that come with it. Whether this results into hesitancy of something that would benefit their health is not well known,” Consuelo Cagande, MD, senior associate program director and fellowship adviser in the department of child and adolescent psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told this news organization.
She pointed out a limitation the authors mention that is common when using ACEs as a measure linking to future negative behaviors – that people self-report them and may misremember or misreport them.
Another limitation is the potential for self-selection bias, as participation level was 36.4%, though the authors noted that is not unusual for unsolicited telephone surveys.
Dr. Cagande said that fearing loss of control may be another factor at play in having to follow restrictions, such as quarantining and masking, social distancing, or mandated vaccinations.
She said it’s important to understand a person’s reason for hesitancy to vaccines and work with the person with the help of the community, to help them trust and feel safe.
Young adults of particular concern
The 18- to 29-year-old age group is of particular concern, Dr. Bellis said.
The researchers estimated the likely rates of vaccine hesitancy according to childhood trauma and age, and the numbers ranged from around 3.5% among those aged 70 and older with no experience of childhood adversity to 38% among 18- to 29-year-olds who had experienced four or more types of childhood trauma.
“Childhood adversity can be an especially raw issue in this group,” he explained. “Some have already been obliged to sacrifice substantial proportions of their teenage lives and some will have suffered greater exposure to adverse childhood experiences as a result of being isolated during the pandemic, sometimes in difficult home environments. Our results suggest that this age group and especially those with high levels of ACEs are some of the most likely to be vaccine hesitant.”
This work was supported by Public Health Wales. The study authors and Dr. Cagande reported no relevant financial relationships.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.