Protocol For An Observational Study On The Effects Of Combinations Of Adverse Childhood Experiences On Adult Depression

TL;DR

This study protocol aims to investigate how different combinations of adverse childhood experiences influence adult depression using BRFSS data, employing a novel collaborative and mixed-methods analysis approach.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed observational study protocol focusing on ACE combinations and adult depression, utilizing data turnover and mixed qualitative-quantitative analysis methods.

Findings

Methodology for analyzing ACE combinations on depression

Use of data turnover for collaborative analysis

Preliminary discussion of study specifics

Abstract

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been linked to a wide range of negative health outcomes in adulthood. However, few studies have investigated what specific combinations of ACEs most substantially impact mental health. In this article, we provide the protocol for our observational study of the effects of combinations of ACEs on adult depression. We use data from the 2023 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to assess these effects. We will evaluate the replicability of our findings by splitting the sample into two discrete subpopulations of individuals. We employ data turnover for this analysis, enabling a single team of statisticians and domain experts to collaboratively evaluate the strength of evidence, and also integrating both qualitative and quantitative insights from exploratory data analysis. We outline our analysis plan using this method and conclude with a brief discussion of several specifics for our study.