Childhood adversity strongly linked to poor mental health in young adults

Emerging adults with an average age of 19 who experienced four or more adverse childhood experiences had substantially higher rates of depression, suicidal ideation, hard drug use, and interpersonal violence than those who reported no childhood adversity.

The study was published today in JAMA Network Open.

The findings point to the importance of both preventing adversity earlier in childhood and intervening during emerging adulthood, Temple said.

"We obviously want to prevent these experiences from happening in the first place, but emerging adulthood also gives us an important window to intervene before these patterns become more entrenched," Temple said. "That means identifying young people who have experienced significant adversity and connecting them with trauma-informed supports, while also addressing broader factors such as neighborhood safety and discrimination that contribute to risk."

Additional authors, all with UTHealth Houston, include Elizabeth Baumler, PhD; Leila Wood, PhD; and Leslie Taylor, PhD.

Source:

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

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