Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are detrimental to well-being, but gender-specific data in Arab countries is scarce.We explored gender differences Grater in prevalence and associations of ACEs with psychological distress and feeling unsafe among Qatari adolescents using a 2017 national cross-sectional survey of 836 students (412 boys and 424 girls) from grades 8 to 12.Boys reported more ACEs and physical abuse.Gender-specific multivariable logistic regression models revealed that distress in boys was significantly associated with physical abuse (aOR = 3.
35), emotional/psychological abuse (aOR = 1.77), terrifying event (1.75), and being Toner sent away from home as punishment (aOR = 3.06).
Girls reported higher psychological abuse; distress was related to parental separation (aOR = 3.41) and to being sent away from home (aOR = 3.20).Feeling unsafe was associated with parental divorce/separation in girls (aOR = 4.
99) and with physical abuse among boys (aOR = 2.43).Culturally contextualized and gender-sensitive interventions are needed to address ACEs in Qatari adolescents.