Date of Award

Summer 8-22-2025

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Open-Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

First Committee Advisor

Alan Cobo-Lewis

Second Committee Member

Ralph Cammack

Third Committee Member

Thane Fremouw

Abstract

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) refers to the potential traumatic events that one can experience in life before the age of 18 (emotional abuse/neglect, physical abuse/neglect, sexual abuse, mental illness/ substance abuse in the household, parental separation/divorce, incarcerated household member or intimate partner violence). ACEs among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) has been understudied, especially when specifically looking within the state of Maine. This is concerning as studies suggest that AI/AN peoples experience higher rates of ACEs as compared to non-AI/AN peoples. Methods: The Maine BRFSS Dataset (2011 and 2021) was analyzed with a logistical regression model to analyze ACE survey questions answered by people who self-identify as AI/AN vs. people who do not. More specifically, a linear regression was conducted to analyze the overall ACE score among AI/AN, and a logistic regression for the individual ACEs. Results: Despite the small sample size in 2011, this study showed that AI/AN Peoples had a higher ACE-score than people not identifying as AI/AN, increasing over time. Individual ACE data showed statistical significance (p< 0.05) on AI/AN status for 8 of the 13 ACEs. Conclusion: Although results show an overall higher ACE exposure for AI/AN over time, one cannot be confident about said results. Further research is needed due to the many limitations (e.g., very small sample size, survey questions not culturally adapted, etc.), as ACEs consequences are still linked to some important health disparities among AI/AN. Keywords: Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE), American Indian/ Alaska Native (AI/AN), Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), Maine.

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