De levenslange lasten van negatieve jeugdervaringen

Negative life events in childhood can have tremendous sequalae in adulthood.

Parental death in childhood is associated with reaching lower socioeconomic status, delinquency, and premature death as an adult. Exposure to four or more adverse childhood experiences, (i.e. child abuse, exposure to domestic violence, parental drug addiction, mental disorder or imprisonment) is associated with an increased risk on chronic disease in adulthood, including diabetes, mental illness, alcoholism, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Identification of children exposed to ongoing adverse experiences is important to offer them support or help them escape.

It could be helpful to ask adults if they were exposed to these experiences. If so, this could provide the possibility to offer them help when they still are hampered by these experiences. Maybe intervention could benefit them by preventing lifelong sequalae with chronic use of health care, incapacity for work, and use of medication.

Conflict of interest and financial support: none declared.