A longitudinal study of the impact of childhood adversity dimensions on social and psychological factors and symptoms of psychosis, depression, and anxiety

• Published in: Schizophrenia research Vol. 270; pp. 102 - 110
• Main Authors: Sheinbaum, Tamara, Gizdic, Alena, Kwapil, Thomas R., Barrantes-Vidal, Neus
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.08.2024
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult Survivors of Child Adverse Events - psychology; Adult Survivors of Child Adverse Events - statistics & numerical data; Adverse Childhood Experiences - statistics & numerical data; Adversity dimensions; Anxiety; Child maltreatment; Depression; Female; Humans; Longitudinal; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Psychopathology; Psychosis; Psychotic Disorders; Social functioning; Social Support; Young Adult; Psychosis; Longitudinal; Psychopathology; Social functioning; Child maltreatment; Adversity dimensions
• ISSN: 0920-9964; 1573-2509; 1573-2509
• DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2024.05.016

The present study examined three empirically-derived childhood adversity dimensions as predictors of social, psychological, and symptom outcomes across three prospective assessments of a young adult sample. Participants were assessed five times over eight years with semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The analyses used the dimensions underlying multiple subscales from well-established childhood adversity measures administered at the first two assessment waves (described in a previous report). Outcome data pertain to the last three assessment waves, with sample sizes ranging from 89 to 169. As hypothesized, the childhood adversity dimensions demonstrated overlapping and differential longitudinal associations with the outcomes. Deprivation predicted the negative (deficit-like) dimension of psychosis, while Threat and Intrafamilial Adversity predicted the positive (psychotic-like) dimension. Depression and anxiety symptoms were predicted by different childhood adversity dimensions over time. Furthermore, Threat predicted a smaller and less diverse social network, Intrafamilial Adversity predicted anxious attachment, and Deprivation predicted a smaller social network, anxious and avoidant attachment, perceived social support, and loneliness. The three adversity dimensions combined accounted for moderate to large proportions of variance in several outcomes. These results extend prior work by identifying associations of three meaningful dimensions of childhood adversity with different risk profiles across psychological, social, and psychopathological domains. The findings enhance our understanding of the impact of childhood adversity across young adulthood. •We examined how adversity dimensions relate to psycho-social and symptom outcomes•Outcome data were collected across three prospective assessments•The dimensions had overlapping and differential longitudinal links with the outcomes•A degree of specificity was found in the prediction of psychosis symptom domains•Findings extend prior work on the utility of empirically-derived adversity dimensions