The Long-Term Health and Human Capital Consequences of Adverse Childhood Experiences in the Birth to Thirty Cohort: Single, Cumulative, and Clustered Adversity

Abstract

Human capital—that is the cumulative abilities, education, social skills, and mental and physical health one possesses—is increasingly recognized as key to the reduction of inequality in societies. Adverse childhood experiences have been linked to a range of human capital indicators, with the majority of research in high-income, western settings. This study aims to examine the link between adverse childhood experiences and adult human capital in a South African birth cohort and to test whether associations differ by measurement of adversity. Secondary analysis of data from the Birth to Thirty study was undertaken. Exposure data on adversity was collected prospectively throughout childhood and retrospectively at age 22. Human capital outcomes were collected at age 28. Adversity was measured as single adverse experiences, cumulative adversity, and clustered adversity. All three measurements of adversity were linked to poor human capital outcomes, with risk for poor human capital increasing with the accumulation of adversity. Adversity was clustered by quantity (low versus high) and type (household dysfunction versus abuse). Adversity in childhood was linked to a broad range of negative outcomes in young adulthood regardless of how it was measured. Nevertheless, issues of measurement are important to understand the risk mechanisms that underlie the association between adversity and poor human capital.

Identification of probable child maltreatment using prospectively recorded information between 5 months and 17 years in a longitudinal cohort of Canadian children

“…To our knowledge, only few population-based longitudinal cohorts have prospectively measured child maltreatment (Denholm et al, 2013;Houtepen et al, 2018;Kisely et al, 2020;Naicker et al, 2022;Newbury et al, 2018;Patten et al, 2015;Reuben et al, 2016). Prospective information can be obtained, for instance, from Youth Protection official records of notified or substantiated maltreatment or through direct questions to caregivers or participants themselves using standardized questionnaires or interviews (e.g., structured interview about child harm during home visits (Newbury et al, 2018)).…”

Empirical Analysis of Population Urbanization and Residents’ Life Satisfaction—Based on 2017 CGSS

“…Thus, while investing in individual education, it is necessary to enhance the physical strength of workers [55]. Only in this way can achieve both physical and mental health, which could improve the reserve of workers' skill capital more effectively [56]. At the enterprise level, human capital also has a significant impact on the development of enterprises and acts as a stabilizer in micro-tech enterprises [57].…”

Adverse childhood experiences, psychological well-being, and substance use in Pakistani university students

“…First, studies of ACEs and their associations with health and well-being should imbed assessments of ACEs in a broader survey and should continue to expand to countries and cultures beyond western nations—particularly low- and middle-income countries were exposure to ACEs is substantial (Amone-P’Olak & Letswai, 2020; LeMasters et al, 2021; Manyema & Richter, 2019; Naicker et al, 2022). Second, research should include assessments of problematic substance use.…”

“…Research conducted in sub-Saharan Africa (Amone-P' Olak & Letswai, 2020;Naicker et al, 2022) and Asia (Ikram et al, 2022;LeMasters et al, 2021), and other places around the globe (De et al, 2013;Zarse et al, 2019) illustrates consistent associations between exposure to ACEs and heightened mental health problems, diminished psychological well-being, and substance use. The current investigation drew on the developmental cascade theory to potentially explain associations between ACEs, well-being, and substance use.…”

“…Furthermore, there is a growing literature linking ACEs and health behaviors, including maladaptive substance use and addiction (Zarse et al, 2019). However, despite the explosion of research on ACEs since the publication of Felitti et al’s (1998) seminal paper, as several researchers have noted, relatively fewer studies of ACEs have been conducted in sub-Saharan Africa (Amone-P’Olak & Letswai, 2020; Manyema & Richter, 2019; Naicker et al, 2022) or large parts of Asia, including Pakistan (Ikram et al, 2022; LeMasters et al, 2021). Reviews of prevalence rates of ACEs across countries have reported fewer ACEs on average in high-income compared to low- and middle-income countries (Hughes et al, 2017).…”