The Shadow of Early Trauma: Adverse Childhood Experiences, Disability or Health-Related Discrimination, and Disability Acceptance

Research consistently indicates that children with disabilities are more likely to encounter adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Such traumatic stress has been associated with the development of generalized self-blame into adult life. Moreover, children with health issues or disabilities often face discrimination, which negatively influences the self-perception of their own health conditions. This study aims to investigate the effects of ACEs on disability acceptance among individuals with chronic illness or disability and to examine how disability or health-related discrimination experiences during childhood moderate this relationship. Descriptive statistics were presented regarding demographics and ACEs to provide an overview of 161 research participants. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis examined the interaction effect between ACEs and discrimination in predicting disability acceptance. This analysis entered disability factors as control variables, followed by ACEs and childhood discrimination, and included the interaction term in the final model. Our findings showed a significant association between ACEs and lower disability acceptance. This association was particularly pronounced among individuals who encountered disability or health-related discrimination in childhood. In the mean comparison using t test, disability acceptance was lower for those who have experienced discrimination. Based on these results, we discuss the implications for rehabilitation counseling and suggest directions for future research.