Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-wq2xx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T02:49:01.671Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Adverse childhood experiences and adult mood problems: evidence from a five-decade prospective birth cohort

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 October 2019

Camilla Selous ,
Michelle Kelly-Irving ,
Barbara Maughan ,
Olga Eyre ,
Frances Rice  and
Stephan Collishaw Open the ORCID record for Stephan Collishaw [Opens in a new window]
Camilla Selous
Affiliation:
Cardiff University School of Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XN, Wales, UK
Michelle Kelly-Irving
Affiliation:
French Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), Unit of Epidemiology and Public Health Analysis, UMR1027, Toulouse, France
Barbara Maughan
Affiliation:
King's College London, MRC Social Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, 16 De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK
Olga Eyre
Affiliation:
Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road, Cardiff CF24 4HQ, Wales, UK
Frances Rice
Affiliation:
Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road, Cardiff CF24 4HQ, Wales, UK
Stephan Collishaw*
Affiliation:
Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road, Cardiff CF24 4HQ, Wales, UK
*
Author for correspondence: Stephan Collishaw, E-mail: collishaws@cardiff.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

Retrospectively recalled adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with adult mood problems, but evidence from prospective population cohorts is limited. The aims of this study were to test links between prospectively ascertained ACEs and adult mood problems up to age 50, to examine the role of child mental health in accounting for observed associations, and to test gender differences in associations.

Methods

The National Child Development Study is a UK population cohort of children born in 1958. ACEs were defined using parent or teacher reports of family adversity (parental separation, child taken into care, parental neglect, family mental health service use, alcoholism and criminality) at ages 7–16. Children with no known (n = 9168), single (n = 2488) and multiple (n = 897) ACEs were identified in childhood. Adult mood problems were assessed using the Malaise inventory at ages 23, 33, 42 and 50 years. Associations were examined separately for males and females.

Results

Experiencing single or multiple ACEs was associated with increased rates of adult mood problems after adjustment for childhood psychopathology and confounders at birth [2+ v. 0 ACEs – men: age 23: odds ratio (OR) 2.36 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.7–3.3); age 33: OR 2.40 (1.7–3.4); age 42: OR 1.85 (1.4–2.4); age 50: OR 2.63 (2.0–3.5); women: age 23: OR 2.00 (95% CI 1.5–2.6); age 33: OR 1.81 (1.3–2.5); age 42: OR 1.59 (1.2–2.1); age 50: OR 1.32 (1.0–1.7)].

Conclusions

Children exposed to ACEs are at elevated risk for adult mood problems and a priority for early prevention irrespective of the presence of psychopathology in childhood.

Keywords

ACEbirth cohortdepressionprospective
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 50 , Issue 14 , October 2020 , pp. 2444 - 2451
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aber, JL, Bennett, NG, Conley, DC and Li, J (1997) The effects of poverty on child health and development. Annual Review of Public Health 18, 463–483.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Amato, PR (2010) Research on divorce: continuing trends and new developments. Journal of Marriage and Family 72, 650–666.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barboza Solís, C, Kelly-Irving, M, Fantin, R, Darnaudéry, M, Torrisani, J, Lang, T and Delpierre, C (2015) Adverse childhood experiences and physiological wear-and-tear in midlife: findings from the 1958 British birth cohort. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112, E738–E746.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bird, K (2007) The Intergenerational Transmission of Poverty: An Overview (Working Paper 99). Manchester: IDPM/Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC).Google Scholar
Boden, JM and Fergusson, DM (2011) Alcohol and depression. Addiction 106, 906–914.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brunner, WM, Schreiner, PJ, Sood, A and Jacobs, DR (2014) Depression and risk of incident asthma in adults. The CARDIA study. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 189, 1044–1051.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cawson, P, Wattam, C, Brooker, S and Kelly, G (2000) Child Maltreatment in the United Kingdom: A Study of the Prevalence of Abuse and Neglect. London: NSPCC.Google Scholar
Chapman, DP, Whitfield, CL, Felitti, VJ, Dube, SR, Edwards, VJ and Anda, RF (2004) Adverse childhood experiences and the risk of depressive disorders in adulthood. Journal of Affective Disorders 82, 217–225.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Choi, NG, DiNitto, DM, Marti, N and Choi, BY (2017) Association of adverse childhood experiences with lifetime mental and substance use disorders among men and women aged 50+ years. International Psychogeriatrics 29, 359–372.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clark, C, Caldwell, T, Power, C and Stansfeld, S (2010) Does the influence of childhood adversity on psychopathology persist across the lifecourse? A 45-year prospective epidemiologic study. Annals of Epidemiology 20, 385–394.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Collishaw, S, Pickles, A, Messer, J, Rutter, M, Shearer, C and Maughan, B (2007) Resilience to adult psychopathology following childhood maltreatment: evidence from a community sample. Child Abuse and Neglect 31, 211–229.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Collishaw, S, Hammerton, G, Mahedy, L, Sellers, R, Owen, MJ, Craddock, N, Thapar, AK, Harold, GT, Rice, F and Thapar, A (2016) Mental health resilience in the adolescent offspring of parents with depression: a prospective longitudinal study. The Lancet Psychiatry 3, 49–57.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Copeland, WE, Shanahan, L, Hinesley, J, Chan, RF, Aberg, KA, Fairbank, JA, van den Oord, EJCG and Costello, EJ (2018) Association of childhood trauma exposure with adult psychiatric disorders and functional outcomes. JAMA Network Open 1, e184493.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Danese, A, Moffitt, TE, Harrington, H, Milne, BJ, Polanczyk, G, Pariante, CM, Poulton, R and Caspi, A (2009) Adverse childhood experiences and adult risk factors for age-related disease: depression, inflammation, and clustering of metabolic risk markers. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 163, 1135–1143.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dube, SR, Anda, RF, Felitti, VJ, Chapman, DP, Williamson, DF and Giles, WH (2001) Childhood abuse, household dysfunction, and the risk of attempted suicide throughout the life span. JAMA 286, 3089–3096.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Felitti, VJ, Anda, RF, Nordenberg, D, Williamson, DF, Spitz, AM, Edwards, V, Koss, MP and Marks, JS (1998) Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults. American Journal of Preventative Medicine 14, 245–258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fergusson, DM, McLeod, GF and Horwood, JL (2014) Parental separation/divorce in childhood and partnership outcomes at age 30. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 55, 352–360.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ferrari, AJ, Charlson, FJ, Norman, RE, Patten, SB, Freedman, G, Murray, CJL, Vos, T and Whiteford, HA (2013) Burden of depressive disorders by country, sex, age, and year: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. PLoS Medicine 10, e1001547.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gilbert, R, Kemp, A, Thoburn, J, Sidebotham, P, Radford, L, Glaser, D and MacMillan, HL (2009) Recognising and responding to child maltreatment. Lancet 373, 167–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gore Langton, E, Collishaw, S, Goodman, R, Pickles, A and Maughan, B (2011) An emerging income differential for adolescent emotional problems. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 52, 1081–1088.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hardt, J and Rutter, M (2004) Validity of adult retrospective reports of adverse childhood experiences: review of the evidence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 45, 260–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harper, C, Marcus, R and Moore, K (2003) Enduring poverty and the conditions of childhood: lifecourse and intergenerational poverty transmissions. World Development 31, 535–554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hertzman, C (1999) The biological embedding of early experience. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 896, 85–95.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Horwitz, AV, Widom, CS, Mclaughlin, J and Raskin, H (2001) The impact of childhood abuse and neglect on adult mental health: a prospective study. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 42, 184–201.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hughes, K, Bellis, MA, Hardcastle, KA, Sethi, D, Butchart, A, Mikton, C, Jones, L and Dunne, MP (2017) The effect of multiple adverse childhood experiences on health: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Public Health 2, e356–e366.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hyde, J, Mezulis, A and Abramson, L (2008) The ABCs of depression: integrating affective, biological, and cognitive models to explain the emergence of the gender difference in depression. Psychological Review 115, 291–313.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnson, J, Weissman, MM and Klerman, GL (1992) Service utilization and social morbidity associated with depressive symptoms in the community. JAMA 267, 1478–1483.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Judd, LL, Akiskal, HS, Maser, JD, Zeller, PJ, Endicott, J, Coryell, W, Paulus, MP, Kunovac, JL, Leon, AC, Mueller, TI and Rice, JA (1998) A prospective 12-year study of subsyndromal and syndromal depressive symptoms in unipolar major depressive disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry 55, 694–700.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendler, KS and Baker, JH (2007) Genetic influences on measures of the environment: a systematic review. Psychological Medicine 37, 615–626.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendler, KS, Bulik, CM, Silberg, J, Hettema, JM, Myers, J and Prescott, CA (2000) Childhood sexual abuse and adult psychiatric and substance use disorders in women: an epidemiological and cotwin control analysis. Archives of General Psychiatry 57, 953–959.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendler, KS and Gardner, CO (2010) Dependent stressful life events and prior depressive episodes in the prediction of major depression: the problem of causal inference in psychiatric epidemiology. Archives of General Psychiatry 67, 1120–1127.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendler, KS and Gardner, CO (2014) Sex differences in the pathways to major depression: a study of opposite-sex twin pairs. American Journal of Psychiatry 171, 426–435.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendler, KS, Gardner, CO and Prescott, CA (2003) Personality and the experience of environmental adversity. Psychological Medicine 33, 1193–1202.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kilpatrick, DG, Saunders, BE and Smith, DW (2003) Youth Victimization: Prevalence and Implications. Research in Brief. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.Google Scholar
Kuehner, C (2017) Why is depression more common among women than among men? The Lancet Psychiatry 4, 146–158.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maughan, B, Collishaw, S and Stringaris, A (2013) Depression in childhood and adolescence. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 22, 35–40.Google ScholarPubMed
Newbury, JB, Arseneault, L, Moffitt, TE, Caspi, A, Danese, A, Baldwin, JR and Fisher, HL (2018) Measuring childhood maltreatment to predict early-adult psychopathology: comparison of prospective informant-reports and retrospective self-reports. Journal of Psychiatric Research 96, 57–64.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oldehinkel, AJ, Ormel, J, Verhulst, FC and Nederhof, E (2014) Childhood adversities and adolescent depression: a matter of both risk and resilience. Development and Psychopathology 26, 1067–1075.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Power, C and Elliott, J (2005) Cohort profile: 1958 British birth cohort (National Child Development Study). International Journal of Epidemiology 35, 34–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Radford, L, Corral, S, Bradley, C, Fisher, H, Bassett, C, Howat, N and Collishaw, S (2011) Child Abuse and Neglect in the UK Today. London: NSPCC.Google Scholar
Reuben, A, Moffitt, TE, Caspi, A, Belsky, DW, Harrington, H, Schroeder, F, Hogan, S, Ramrakha, S, Poulton, R and Danese, A (2016) Lest we forget: comparing retrospective and prospective assessments of adverse childhood experiences in the prediction of adult health. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 57, 1103–1112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rodgers, B, Pickles, A, Power, C, Collishaw, S and Maughan, B (1999) Validity of the Malaise Inventory in general population samples. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 34, 333–341.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rutter, M, Tizard, J and Whitmore, K (1970) Education, Health and Behaviour. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Schilling, EA, Aseltine, RH and Gore, S (2007) Adverse childhood experiences and mental health in young adults: a longitudinal survey. BMC Public Health 7, 30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sellers, R, Warne, N, Pickles, A, Maughan, B, Thapar, A, and Collishaw, S (2019) Cross-cohort change in adolescent outcomes for children with mental health problems. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 60, 813–821.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shepherd, P (2012) 1958 national Child Development Study ethical review and consent. International Journal of Epidemiology 35, 836–843.Google Scholar
Shonkoff, JP, Gardner, AS, Siegel, BS, Dobbins, MI, Earls, MF, McGuinn, L, Pascoe, J and Wood, DL (2012) The lifelong effects of early childhood adversity and toxic stress. Pediatrics 129, e232–e246.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stice, E, Shaw, H, Bohon, C, Marti, CN and Rohde, P (2009) A meta-analytic review of depression prevention programs for children and adolescents: factors that predict magnitude of intervention effects. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 77, 486–503.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Takizawa, R, Maughan, B and Arseneault, L (2014) Adult health outcomes of childhood bullying victimization: evidence from a five-decade longitudinal British birth cohort. American Journal of Psychiatry 171, 777–784.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thapar, A, Collishaw, S, Pine, D and Thapar, A (2012) Depression in adolescence. Lancet 379, 1056–1067.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vos, T, Flaxman, AD, Naghavi, M, Lozano, R, Michaud, C, Ezzati, M, Shibuya, K, Salomon, JA, Abdalla, S, Aboyans, V and Abraham, J (2012) Years lived with disability (YLDs) for 1160 sequelae of 289 diseases and injuries 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet 380, 2163–2196.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Widom, CS, DuMont, K and Czaja, SJ (2007) A prospective investigation of major depressive disorder and comorbidity in abused and neglected children grown up. Archives of General Psychiatry 64, 49–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Supplementary material: File

Selous et al. supplementary material

Tables S1-S4

Download Selous et al. supplementary material(File)
File 20 KB