Scientists have linked childhood injuries to problems in adulthood

Young people who experienced four or more adverse events in childhood were more likely to experience depression, suicidal thoughts, heavy drug use, and interpersonal violence. This conclusion was reached by researchers from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston, who studied data from 1,850 young people with an average age of 19 years. About which experiences in childhood are most strongly associated with problems at the beginning of adulthood, see the "Izvestia" material.

The more injuries a child has experienced, the higher the risks in adulthood.

Researchers have found a link between the number of adverse events in childhood and the condition of young adults. Participants who reported four or more similar experiences were more likely to experience depression, suicidal thoughts, heavy drug use, and interpersonal violence compared to those who did not report adverse childhood experiences.

At the same time, the authors note a general pattern: as the number of adverse events increased, the indicators of health and other areas of life generally worsened.

The work was published in the journal JAMA Network Open. The authors note that their study allows us to see the consequences of an unfavorable childhood experience relatively close to the moment when it occurred. This distinguishes it from many previous works in which the effects of childhood experiences were assessed in adults several decades later.

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To assess the participants' experiences, the researchers used a questionnaire that included 21 types of adverse childhood experiences. It includes both traditional family-related categories and environmental circumstances.

The first group included emotional, sexualized, and physical abuse, emotional and physical neglect, domestic violence surveillance, substance abuse in the family, mental illness of family members, and incarceration of a relative. The second group included witnessing violence, discrimination, bullying, and feeling unsafe in their own neighborhood.

Thus, the study took into account not only what was happening directly in the family, but also the influence of the broader environment in which the person grew up. The authors consider this approach to be one of the differences between their work and research that examines unfavorable childhood experiences primarily through family circumstances.

Four experiences turned out to be particularly significant

Among all the factors studied, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, discrimination, and the observation of domestic violence showed the strongest and most consistent associations with adverse consequences. It is these categories that researchers have identified among other types of childhood adversity.

At the same time, the authors considered several areas of young people's lives at once. It wasn't just about the mental state, but also about relationships, substance use, and educational outcomes. The study showed that the increase in the number of adverse experiences was accompanied by differences in several of these areas at once.

The data obtained does not mean that each of the listed experiences inevitably leads to a specific violation or problem. The researchers recorded statistical relationships between the participants' experiences and subsequent indicators of their condition and behavior.

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Why are the consequences noticeable already on the threshold of adulthood?

The average age of the study participants was 19 years old. According to Jeff Temple, a professor at the School of Behavioral Sciences at the University of Texas at Houston and the first author of the work, this period is especially important for the formation of personality, behavior and further life trajectories. The transition from adolescence to adulthood is associated with changes in relationships, education, and other areas, so what happens during this period may have consequences in the future.

According to the researcher, early adulthood is a particularly important stage of development. The experiences gained during these years can have an impact on health, relationships, and education as an adult.

Childhood injuries can be considered even before serious problems appear.

The researchers believe that the results indicate two areas of work at once: preventing adverse childhood experiences and helping people who have already experienced them. At the same time, the authors consider early adulthood as a period when intervention can still help prevent the consolidation of negative consequences.

Temple noted that specialists may be interested not only in the fact of the trauma itself, but also in the totality of circumstances that a person faced. In particular, we are talking about identifying young people with a large number of adverse experiences and providing them with assistance based on traumatic experiences.

The authors also suggest taking into account broader risk factors, such as neighborhood security and discrimination. This approach, in their opinion, allows us to consider the unfavorable childhood experience not only as a set of past events, but also as a factor related to the conditions in which a person continues to live.