How can an unhappy family impact your health? Let’s find out!
Existing literature has always pointed out towards a great correlation between childhood trauma, unhappy family and mental health problems in adult life. We have always known that those who suffer from childhood trauma or have a disturbed childhood end up having more difficulty in coping with their surroundings in the future. Childhood trauma not only impacts our mental health but also our physical health. According to new research, adverse childhood experiences can have a deep impact on old age, especially for those children who have seen or experienced violence.
Growing up in an unhappy family or experiencing trauma in youth leads to poor health outcomes in old age. These adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have a long-term impact on health and have always been a major thrust of study in psychology.
A few major problems that have always been observed due to childhood trauma are-
- Physical health problems
It has been found that those who experience adverse childhood experiences are more likely to develop problems in adulthood and old age. This could include heart disease, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, etc.
- Mental health implications
It is the one that has been most widely studied and it has been shown that those with childhood trauma are more prone to having depression, anxiety or PTSD in the future.
- Health risk behaviours
Those who have been brought up in disturbed families might be prone to more health-risky behaviours such as smoking, alcohol consumption or drug abuse.
- Attachment styles
It has also been observed that those who have faced childhood trauma have different attachment styles with their loved ones in the future. Mostly, these are insecure attachment styles and are extremely unhealthy for their relationship.
So what does the latest latest research say?
The research that was recently published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine had the following key findings
- Those who experienced violence in childhood were 40% more likely to have mobility impairment.
- These people were also 80% more likely to have difficulty with daily activities.
- Those who came from unhappy families were 40% likely to have mild cognitive impairment.
The study looked at self-reported disability to measure physical and cognitive impairment. This study has pointed out that those who have faced any sort of childhood trauma or violence end up having a difficult life as older adults. This problem can be very well carried into the 60s, 70s, or even older. Bad childhood experiences are extremely common and can undermine a child’s sense of safety or stability. However, there has been little research to observe how these adverse childhood experiences affect people into their old age. This research, hence it’s one of the most important research which shows the impact of ACES across the full lifespan. Victoria M. Lee, the first author of the study said “Given how common ACEs were among our participants, it shows that stressful early life experiences may be markers of risk of functional impairment and disability later in life. This raises implications for geriatric care: early recognition of childhood trauma may be useful in identifying adults who might benefit from screening or prevention strategies for aging-associated functional decline.”
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