Early Life Adversity Predicts Later Mental Health Issues Around the World

Exposure to childhood trauma raises the risk of adult mental illness by 66%, according to a systematic review of 43 meta-analyses across seven countries.

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A comprehensive umbrella review published in Neuropsychobiology analyzed 43 meta-analyses involving over 14 million participants across seven countries, including Ethiopia, the UK, the US, Brazil, Australia, Ireland, and Canada. The study found that individuals exposed to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as Abuse, neglect, domestic Violence, and parental mental illness, face a 66 percent higher risk of developing mental health disorders later in life.

The authors, led by Biruk Beletew Abate of Woldia University in Ethiopia, noted particularly elevated risks in Ethiopia and a lower association in Canada, suggesting that national intervention strategies and resources significantly influence outcomes.

“Subgroup analysis of the pooled effect size of ACE as a risk factor for mental health problems is almost consistent across different countries,” the authors write.  “However, a study done in Ethiopia revealed that the pooled effect of ACE as a risk factor for mental health problems later in life was significantly higher than in other countries. Contrary to this result, a study done in Canada revealed that the pooled effect of ACE as a risk factor for mental health problems later in life was significantly lower than in other countries.”

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Richard Sears
Richard Sears teaches psychology at West Georgia Technical College and is studying to receive a PhD in consciousness and society from the University of West Georgia. He has previously worked in crisis stabilization units as an intake assessor and crisis line operator. His current research interests include the delineation between institutions and the individuals that make them up, dehumanization and its relationship to exaltation, and natural substitutes for potentially harmful psychopharmacological interventions.

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