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Impact of dimensions of early adversity on adult health and functioning: A 2-decade, longitudinal study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2022

Ellen W. McGinnis ,
Margaret Sheridan Open the ORCID record for Margaret Sheridan [Opens in a new window]  and
William E. Copeland Open the ORCID record for William E. Copeland [Opens in a new window]
Ellen W. McGinnis
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, VT, USA
Margaret Sheridan
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
William E. Copeland*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, VT, USA
*
Corresponding author: William E. Copeland, email: William.copeland@med.uvm.edu
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Abstract

Recent neurodevelopmental and evolutionary theories offer strong theoretical rationales and some empirical evidence to support the importance of specific dimensions of early adversity. However, studies have often been limited by omission of other adversity dimensions, singular outcomes, and short follow up durations. 1,420 participants in the community, Great Smoky Mountains Study, were assessed up to eight times between age 9 and 16 for four dimensions of early adversity: Threat, Material Deprivation, Unpredictability, and Loss (as well as a Cumulative Adversity measure). Participants were followed up to four times in adulthood (ages 19, 21, 25, and 30) to measure psychiatric disorders, substance disorder, and “real-world” functioning. Every childhood adversity dimension was associated with multiple adult psychiatric, substance, or functional outcomes when tested simultaneously in a multivariable analysis that accounted for other childhood adversities. There was evidence of differential impact of dimensions of adversity exposure on proximal outcomes (e.g., material deprivation and IQ) and even on distal outcomes (e.g., threat and emotional functioning). There were similar levels of prediction between the best set of individual adversity scales and a single cumulative adversity measure when considering distal outcomes. All dimensions of childhood adversity have lasting, pleiotropic effects, on adult health and functioning, but these dimensions may act via distinct proximal pathways.

Keywords

child adversitydeprivationlife historylongitudinalthreat
Type
Special Issue Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 34 , Issue 2: Special Issue: Dimensions of early experience and adaptive and maladaptive development , May 2022 , pp. 527 - 538
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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