Adverse Childhood Experiences & Impulsivity in Late Adolescence & Young Adulthood of Students of University of the Punjab Lahore

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and impulsivity in students (17-25 years of age) of University of the Punjab, Lahore.A sample of 80 university students (mean age = 21 years) was selected through convenience sampling from five departments at the New Campus with equal representation of both genders. The Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (Anda, 2007) measured number of adverse childhood experiences faced by the participants; while Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, Version 11 (Patton, Stanford & Barratt, 1995) assessed impulsivity. Pearson product moment correlation revealed a non-significant correlation between adverse childhood experiences and impulsivity. Furthermore, a significant gender difference was discovered through independent samples t test, men reporting significantly higher occurrences of adverse childhood experiences. It was concluded that due to the sensitive nature of the topic with reference to the conservative Pakistani society, participants might have inaccurately reported thatchildhood experiences resulting in the non-significant correlation with impulsivity. Accordingly, it was suggested that indigenous tools be developed in order to minimize these cultural influences and future studies should aim to explore these cultural dynamics.