Adult happiness and prior traumatic victimization in and out of the household

Abstract

A large share of the American population suffers from traumatic experiences early in life. Many adults are also victims of trauma. Using data drawn from the National Comorbidity Survey-Replication, we examine the link between selfreported happiness, a broad gauge of subjective well-being, and four types of traumatic victimization that may occur at various points in the life cycle. In particular, we consider the association between home violence, sexual assault, community violence, and stalking and subsequent victims' adult happiness. For females and males, we find that each of these traumas significantly reduces self-reported happiness later in the life course, and for both women and men, the estimated impact of home violence is greatest. Furthermore, we find that the adverse effects of trauma on happiness are comparable to the impact of critical socioeconomic developments on happiness. Moreover, we find that experiencing more than one type of these four traumas has a greater negative impact on subsequent happiness than experiencing only one type. Our findings are robust to the inclusion of a wide range of controls, and the influence of trauma on subsequent happiness is Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

Childhood Traumatic Experiences and Happiness of Nursing Students: A Mixed Methods Study

“…The study found a significant negative correlation between childhood trauma and happiness levels. This finding is consistent with other findings in the literature (Diette et al, 2018; Oshio et al, 2013). The experience of childhood trauma makes it difficult to achieve happiness in adulthood.…”

“…Happiness is a multifaceted and subjective concept. It is influenced by many factors, from the sociodemographic characteristics of the individual to their attitudes toward life (Diette et al, 2018); one of these is factors is CTE.…”

“…When the psychosocial effects of childhood trauma experience (CTE) cannot be overcome and adequate support is not provided during this period, various psychopathologies may be seen which may continue to have negative effects into adulthood (Wu et al, 2018). The lasting effects of CTE may lead to mental problems such as personality disorders, depression (Kürtüncü et al, 2020), alcoholism, drug abuse (Felitti et al, 2019) and may negatively affect the individual's levels of happiness (Diette et al, 2018), their personalities, work and relationships (Karakas ¸& Çingöl, 2021).…”

“…The fact that CTE lowers happiness levels (Diette et al, 2018) may also impact nurses' relationships with patients and the quality of care. Nurses' happiness levels have been found to have a positive impact on patient satisfaction (Tzeng & Ketefian, 2002).…”

Study of Resilience, Happiness and Life Satisfaction Among Acid Attack Surviors

“…In trauma victims, happiness is questionable because of their victimization. They could be victims of home violence, sexual assault, community violence or stalking, happening in different stages of their lives, leading to being unhappy in their adult lives (Diette et al, 2016). Factors that contribute significantly to a person being happy are the intimate relationships shared with people around.…”