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Cited by 1,298Child Abuse and TraumaChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentPosttraumatic Stress Disorder Research

Childhood adversity and adult psychiatric disorder in the US National Comorbidity Survey

KESSLER, R. C., DAVIS, C. G., KENDLER, K. S.·1997·Psychological Medicine
DOI 10.1017/s0033291797005588
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Survey data are presented on the associations between retrospectively reported childhood adversities and subsequent onset and persistence of DSM-III-R disorders. METHODS: Data come from the US National Comorbidity Survey, a large survey of the US household population. RESULTS: Twenty-six adversities were considered, including loss events (e.g. parental divorce), parental psychopathologies (e.g. maternal depression), interpersonal traumas (e.g. rape) and other adversities (e.g. natural disaster). These adversities were consistently associated with onset, but not persistence, of DSM-III-R mood disorders, anxiety disorders, addictive disorders and acting out disorders. Most bivariate associations with onset attenuated in models that controlled for clustering of adversities and for lifetime co-morbidities among psychiatric disorders. Multivariate effects of adversities in logistic models were additive, which means that they have multiplicative effects on probability of disorder onset. Adversities showed little specificity. An analysis of time decay showed that the effects of childhood adversities on disorder onset persist beyond childhood. CONCLUSIONS: The existence of strong clustering among childhood adversities and lifetime co-morbidity among adult disorders means that caution is needed in interpreting the results of previous single-adversity single-disorder studies as documenting unique effects of specific childhood adversities on specific adult disorders. Future studies need to assess a broader range of adversities and disorders and to explore the existence and effects of commonly occurring adversity clusters. Replication is needed to verify that the effects of childhood adversities are mostly on first onset rather than on the creation of vulnerabilities that lead to increased risk of persistence.

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Authors
KESSLER, R. C., DAVIS, C. G., & KENDLER, K. S.
Affiliations
Harvard University (US)
ORCID
Venue
Psychological Medicine
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
1997-09
Volume
27
Issue
5
Pages
1101-1119
ISSN
  • 0033-2917 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-8978
DOI
10.1017/s0033291797005588
OpenAlex
W2067908853
Cited by
1,298
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 36 · 2022: 48 · 2021: 47 · 2020: 47 · 2019: 45 · 2018: 52 · 2017: 67 · 2016: 67 · 2015: 73 · 2014: 63 · 2013: 59 · 2012: 77
FWCI
16.86
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified)
Locations
  • Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (5r01mh052861-04)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (MH52861, R01MH046376, R01 MH46376, R01-MH49098, R01MH049098)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
Keywords
childhood adversity, adult psychiatric disorders, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, addiction, comorbidities, parental divorce, maternal depression, interpersonal trauma, natural disasters, DSM-III-R, National Comorbidity Survey
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Anxiety Disorders, Mental Disorders, Child, Child Rearing, Cross-Sectional Studies, Family Health, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Life Change Events, Male, Middle Aged, Retrospective Studies, Time Factors, United States, Comorbidity, Causality, Prevalence, Confidence Intervals, Chi-Square Distribution, Likelihood Functions, Logistic Models, Odds Ratio, Survival Analysis, Child of Impaired Parents, Age of Onset, Mood Disorders, Substance-Related Disorders

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