Early life adversity increases the salience of later life stress: an investigation of interactive effects in the PSID

A large body of evidence has shown that stress throughout life is associated with health trajectories, but the combination of adverse experiences at different stages of the life course is not yet well understood. This study examines the interactions between childhood adversity, adulthood adversity,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of developmental origins of health and disease 2020-02, Vol.11 (1), p.25-36
Main Authors: Saxton, Katherine, Chyu, Laura
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adults
Adverse childhood experiences
Adverse Childhood Experiences - psychology
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Childrens health
Chronic illnesses
Epidemiology
Female
Health Status
Households
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Mental Health
Middle Aged
Psychological Distress
Retrospective Studies
Severity of Illness Index
Sex crimes
Socioeconomic factors
Stress
Stress, Psychological - diagnosis
Stress, Psychological - psychology
Studies
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Summary:A large body of evidence has shown that stress throughout life is associated with health trajectories, but the combination of adverse experiences at different stages of the life course is not yet well understood. This study examines the interactions between childhood adversity, adulthood adversity, and adult physical and mental health. Using data from The Childhood Retrospective Circumstances Study (CRCS) supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), we created indices of early life adversity (EAI) and adult adversity (AAI). We used logistic regression to examine the effects of EAI and AAI, adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, health behaviors, and childhood health as covariates in all models. We repeated this analysis for the outcomes of fair/poor health, two or more chronic conditions, and psychological distress in adulthood. For all the three outcomes, our findings suggest increasing salience of adult adversity among those who experienced higher levels of early adversity. Individuals with high EAI and high AAI exhibited the highest odds of fair/poor health (OR = 5.71), chronic conditions (OR = 3.06), and psychological distress (OR = 13.08) compared to those with low EAI and low AAI. These findings are consistent with the accumulation of risk or dual risk model of stress and health. Adversity in childhood amplifies the health risks associated with stress in adulthood for multiple health outcomes.
ISSN:2040-1744
2040-1752
DOI:10.1017/S2040174419000308