TY - JOUR
T1 - Early life stress and adult emotional experience
T2 - An international perspective
AU - Cohen, Ronald A.
AU - Hitsman, Brian L.
AU - Paul, Robert H.
AU - McCaffery, Jeanne
AU - Stroud, Laura
AU - Sweet, Lawrence
AU - Gunstad, John
AU - Niaura, Raymond
AU - MacFarlane, Alexander
AU - Bryant, Richard A.
AU - Gordon, Evian
PY - 2006
Y1 - 2006
N2 - Early life stress (ELS) has been linked to adult psychopathology, though few studies have examined the universality of specific adverse childhood events (ACEs) in healthy adults. We examined the co-occurrence of specific ACEs and their relationship to current emotional distress in an international sample of adults without psychopathology. Participants were 1659 men and women recruited for an international neurocognitive-neuroimaging database from sites in the United States, Australia, England, and the Netherlands. Participants had no current or prior diagnosis of major depression, anxiety, substance abuse, or neurological brain disorder. The occurrence and age on onset of 19 ACEs was assessed by a self-report questionnaire (ELSQ), and current symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety by the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS). The relationship of specific ACEs to DASS symptoms was examined. Participants reported relatively high prevalence of ACEs. Only 27.6% of the sample reported no ACEs, while 39.5% reported one or two significant experiences and 32.9% reported more than two ACEs. Rates of most ACEs were quite similar across the three continents. Various ACEs were significantly associated with current DASS severity, particularly ACEs involving emotional abuse, neglect, and family conflict, violence, and breakup. Finding nearly one-third of the sample reported three or more ACEs suggest a high prevalence of ELS in otherwise healthy "normal" adults around the world. Associations between ELS and current emotional distress suggest that these events have functional relevance and deserve further investigation.
AB - Early life stress (ELS) has been linked to adult psychopathology, though few studies have examined the universality of specific adverse childhood events (ACEs) in healthy adults. We examined the co-occurrence of specific ACEs and their relationship to current emotional distress in an international sample of adults without psychopathology. Participants were 1659 men and women recruited for an international neurocognitive-neuroimaging database from sites in the United States, Australia, England, and the Netherlands. Participants had no current or prior diagnosis of major depression, anxiety, substance abuse, or neurological brain disorder. The occurrence and age on onset of 19 ACEs was assessed by a self-report questionnaire (ELSQ), and current symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety by the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS). The relationship of specific ACEs to DASS symptoms was examined. Participants reported relatively high prevalence of ACEs. Only 27.6% of the sample reported no ACEs, while 39.5% reported one or two significant experiences and 32.9% reported more than two ACEs. Rates of most ACEs were quite similar across the three continents. Various ACEs were significantly associated with current DASS severity, particularly ACEs involving emotional abuse, neglect, and family conflict, violence, and breakup. Finding nearly one-third of the sample reported three or more ACEs suggest a high prevalence of ELS in otherwise healthy "normal" adults around the world. Associations between ELS and current emotional distress suggest that these events have functional relevance and deserve further investigation.
KW - Adult emotional experience
KW - Adverse childhood events
KW - Anxiety
KW - Depression
KW - Early life stress
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U2 - 10.2190/5R62-9PQY-0NEL-TLPA
DO - 10.2190/5R62-9PQY-0NEL-TLPA
M3 - Article
C2 - 16927577
AN - SCOPUS:34547133726
SN - 0091-2174
VL - 36
SP - 35
EP - 52
JO - International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine
JF - International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine
IS - 1
ER -