Association between childhood adversities and psychopathology onset throughout the lifespan: Findings from a large metropolitan population

Abstract

BackgroundChildhood adversities (ECA) are deleterious experiences that can occur during individuals’ development, which has been associated with several negative health outcomes. AimAnalyze the effect of ECA on the onset of DSM-IV disorders throughout life. MethodThe Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) was used in a stratified, multistage area probability sample of 5037 individuals aged 18 or more to assess the presence of childhood adversities, 20 psychiatric disorders and their ages of onset. Discrete-time survival models were performed to estimate the odds of disorder onset. Data are from the São Paulo Megacity Mental Health Survey, the Brazilian branch of the World Mental Health Survey Initiative. Findings53.6% of the sample experienced at least one ECA, and parental death (16.1%) and physical abuse (16%) were the most reported occurrences. Parental mental illness (OR = 1.99 to 2.27) and family violence (OR = 1.55 to 1.99) were the adversities most consistently associated with psychopathology across all age groups, while economic adversities (OR = 2.71 to 3.30) and parent criminality (OR = 1.72 to 1.77) were associated with psychopathology in individuals whose onset of disorder occurred from age 13 years on. Parental mental disorders and economic adversities were the strongest and most consistent predictors of all four classes of psychopathologies examined in multivariate models controlled for the clustering of adversities. Physical abuse was associated with externalizing disorders, while sexual abuse with internalizing disorders. InterpretationChildhood adversities were consistently associated with mental disorders. Economic adversities and parent mental disorders were predictive of psychopathology even if controlled for type (additive) and type and number of adversities (interactive models). Parental mental disorder and family violence were the main predictors of psychopathology onset across all age groups. Parental mental disorder was the only adversity that predicted all classes of disorders investigated.