Different Forms of Childhood Adversity Tied to Different Psychiatric Problems

Authors say findings can inform targeted early prevention and intervention strategies for at-risk youth

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Oct. 25, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Distinct forms of traumatic and adverse childhood experiences (TRACEs) differentially moderate developmental changes in psychiatric risk and cognitive ability in different ways, according to a study published online Oct. 23 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Justin D. Russell, Ph.D., from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health in Madison, and colleagues characterized unique components of 268 commonly co-occurring TRACEs and examined moderation of longitudinal change in mental health and cognitive development during adolescence. The analysis included 11,876 youth-caregiver dyads who completed up to four annual behavioral assessments (2016 to 2021) as part of the ongoing Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study.

The researchers found that TRACEs fell into into eight thematic adversity components (e.g., family conflict, interpersonal violence). Exposure to nearly every adversity component at baseline was associated with poorer mental health and diminished cognitive ability. Different forms of adversity were variably linked to both increases and decreases in internalizing and externalizing problems over time. For example, during early adolescence, while peer aggression and family conflict were associated with increases in both internalizing and externalizing problems, community threat and poverty were linked to decreased problems, potentially representing adaptive suppression of symptoms. During early adolescence, adversity types related to resource deprivation (e.g., poverty, caregiver maladjustment) were associated with declines in cognitive ability.

“These findings hold important implications for advancing prevention and treatment of mental health problems in adversity-exposed youth,” the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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