Childhood Adversity and Psychosocial Adjustment in Old Age

Abstract

Objective-The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that higher level of childhood adversity is associated with lower level of psychosocial adjustment in old age.Method-Participants are 253 older persons (mean age: 79.8, standard deviation: 2.1; 73.9% women) from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, a clinicopathologic study of common chronic conditions of old age. Childhood adversity was assessed with a 16-item measure based on portions of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and other inventories. Psychosocial adjustment was assessed with multiple measures of neuroticism (i.e., proneness to negative emotions) and social engagement.Results-Based in part on a factor analysis, composite measures of total adversity, emotional neglect, parental intimidation, parental violence, family turmoil, and financial need were developed. In a series of linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, own education, and parental education, the composite measure of childhood adversity was associated with all facets of neuroticism and accounted for more than 13% of the variance in the composite neuroticism measure. Emotional neglect and parental intimidation had the strongest associations with neuroticism. Childhood adversity was not related to frequency of participation in social activities, but more adversity was associated with having a smaller network (accounting for 3% of the variance) and feeling more emotionally isolated (accounting for 7% of the variance).Conclusion-Childhood adversity is associated with less adaptive psychosocial functioning in old age. KeywordsChildhood Adversity; aging; neuroticism; social engagement Maltreatment, neglect, and other adverse experiences commonly occur during childhood. [1][2][3] Among adults, a history of adverse childhood experience has been shown to be associated with diverse psychologic problems, including interpersonal difficulties, 4,5 personality disorders, 6, 7 depression, 8,9 alcohol and substance abuse, 7,8 and suicidal behavior, 10,11 as well as poor physical health. 12,13 By contrast, knowledge about the relation of traumatic experiences during childhood to mental health in old age is limited. Most research has focused on parental emotional support, with lower levels of support associated with more physical and emotional problems in older persons. [14][15][16] In addition, loss of a parent in childhood has been related to NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript impaired physical health, but not disability, in old age. 17 Thus, the extent to which the deleterious effects of childhood adversity persist into old age is not well understood.In the present study, we examined the relation of childhood adversity to psychosocial adjustment in older persons. Participants are from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, a clinicopathologic study of chronic conditions of old age. We developed from existing questionnaires a self-report measure of adverse childhood experiences, including emotional neglect and parental violence and intimidation...

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