Adverse Childhood Experiences and Depressive Symptoms Among Female Sexual Minorities in China

Background: Despite the relationship between Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and depressive symptoms, which has been well conducted in general populations, little is known about homosexual and bisexual populations, especially female sexual minorities in China. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of ACEs and depressive symptoms and to analyze the relationship between them among female sexual minorities in China.Methods: The eligible participants were aged 16 years or older who report their sexual orientation as homosexual or bisexual. The data was collected through anonymous questionnaires under the help of Lespark in Bejing from July 18 to December 29, 2018. Univariate analysis and multiple linear regression analyses were performed to explore the relationship between ACEs and depressive symptoms among female sexual minorities. All statistical analyses were conducted by the software of SPSS 22.0.Results: Among 301 female sexual minorities,51.5% reported at least one ACE, in which emotional neglect (22.6%) and emotional abuse (22.3%) were common ACEs. 24.6% reported that they had suffered only one type of ACE, and 10% have suffered four or more ACEs. As for depressive symptoms of female sexual minorities, the detection rate was 56.1%. The multiple linear regression analyses showed that abuse (β=2.95, p＜0.05) and neglect (β=3.21,p＜0.05) were positively correlated with depressive symptoms and female sexual minorities with three (β=4.11, p＜0.05) or more (β=6.02, p＜0.001) ACEs suffered from more depressive symptoms than others. Conclusion: Both ACEs and depressive symptoms were at high prevalence among female sexual minorities in China. ACEs were associated with depressive symptoms, especially childhood abuse and neglect experiences that have a significant effect on female sexual minorities’ mental health.