Theoretical perspectives propose that positive childhood experiences (PCEs) are associated with adult mental health symptoms. The aim of the current study was to conduct a meta-analysis to evaluate the correlations between PCEs and adult mental health symptoms. 41 unique studies (N = 74,492) were included. Significant, negative, medium-to-large, effects were observed between PCEs and each mental health symptom (medium-to-large for overall mental health: r = −.268; and depression: r = −.273; for anxiety: r = −.246; and PTSD: r = −.243), indicating that higher levels of PCEs are linked to fewer mental health difficulties in adulthood. Meta-regression analyses identified current age at the time of mental health assessment and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) as significant moderators. Specifically, the promotive effects of PCEs were stronger among younger adults and weakened with higher ACEs exposure, particularly in relation to overall adult mental health symptoms, depression, PTSD, and anxiety. In contrast, no significant moderation effects were found for sex or the type of PCEs measurement tool used. Integrated prevention frameworks that combine ACEs prevention with PCEs promotion can enhance mental health across the lifespan by addressing both risk and promotive pathways and providing developmentally tailored support.

According to the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis, low-birthweight (LBW) infants are programmed to seek additional resources as compensation for early deprivation. However, no study has yet explored this in the context of delay discounting (DD), which refers to the tendency to prefer smaller, immediate rewards over larger, delayed ones. Both prenatal factors, such as LBW, and postnatal factors, including adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and exposure to natural disasters, may influence DD. To investigate whether LBW children seek larger future rewards, we analyzed LBW’s effect on DD, accounting for ACEs and natural disaster exposure. This prospective cohort study involved 167 children from areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), with a mean age of 8.3 years at the time of the DD experiment. LBW was assessed in the 2012 baseline questionnaire using the Mother-Child Handbook, along with ACEs prior to the GEJE and traumatic earthquake experiences. In 2014, DD was assessed through a token-based experiment where children allocated tokens for either immediate rewards (one candy per token for “now”) or delayed rewards (two candies per token for “one month later”). Our results showed that children with LBW and three or more ACEs exhibited lower DD, while traumatic earthquake experiences were not associated with DD. These findings suggest that children with LBW and multiple ACEs may develop adaptive strategies to seek more resources, indicating a responsive reward system to childhood adversity, even after exposure to a severe natural disaster.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with poor mental health outcomes, which are increasingly conceptualized from a transdiagnostic perspective. We examined the impact of ACEs on transdiagnostic mental health outcomes in young adulthood and explored potential effect modification. We included participants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children with prospectively measured data on ACEs from infancy till age 16 as well as mental health outcomes at ages 18 and 24. Exposures included emotional neglect, bullying, and physical, sexual or emotional abuse. The outcome was a pooled transdiagnostic Stage of 1b (subthreshold but clinically significant symptoms) or greater level (Stage 1b+) of depression, anxiety, or psychosis – a clinical stage typically associated with first need for mental health care. We conducted multivariable logistic regressions, with multiple imputation for missing data. We explored effect modification by sex at birth, first-degree family history of mental disorder, childhood neurocognition, and adolescent personality traits. Stage 1b + outcome was associated with any ACE (OR = 2.66, 95% CI = 1.68–4.22), any abuse (OR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.38–3.14), bullying (OR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.43–3.24), and emotional neglect (OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.06–2.67). Emotional neglect had a weaker association with the outcome among females (OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 0.61–2.14) than males (OR = 3.49, 95% CI = 1.64–7.42) and among those with higher extraversion (OR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.85–0.97), in unweighted (n = 2,126) and weighted analyses (n = 7,815), with an openness–neglect interaction observed in the unweighted sample. Sex at birth, openness, and extraversion could modify the effects of adverse experiences, particularly emotional neglect, on the development of poorer transdiagnostic mental health outcomes.

Although adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are commonly associated with depressive symptoms in adulthood, studies frequently collapse ACEs into a single unitary index, making it difficult to identify specific targets for intervention and prevention. Furthermore, studies rarely explore sex differences in this area despite males and females often differing in the experiences of ACEs, depressive symptoms, and inflammatory activity. To address these issues, we used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to model the effects of 10 different ACEs on C-reactive protein (CRP) and depressive symptoms in adulthood. Path modeling was used to measure the effects of ACEs on CRP and depressive symptoms conjointly while also assigning covariances among ACEs to assess their interrelations. Sex-by-ACE interaction terms and sex-disaggregated models were used to test for potential differences. Emotional abuse and parental incarceration were consistently related to both CRP and depressive symptoms for males and females. Childhood maltreatment was associated with depressive symptoms for females, whereas sexual abuse was associated with inflammation for males. Several covariances among ACEs were identified, indicating potential networks through which ACEs are indirectly associated with CRP and depressive symptoms. These data demonstrate that ACEs have differing direct effects on CRP and depressive symptoms – and that they differ with respect to how they cluster – for males versus females. These differences should be considered in theory and clinical workflows aiming to understand, treat, and prevent the long-term impacts of ACEs on depressive symptoms and inflammation-related health conditions in adulthood.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are prevalent in people with substance use disorder (SUD). The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of ACEs in a specific sample of people with SUD and to analyze the specific characteristics of these patients according to gender. The studied sample consisted of 215 people seeking treatment for SUD in two clinical centers in Spain. Descriptive and comparison analyses were carried out, and a logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the main variables related to ACEs. The prevalence of at least one ACE was 82.3%. Women reported a higher prevalence of family mental health problems (p = .045; d = 0.14) and sexual abuse (p < .001; d = 0.43) than men. The group with ≥3 ACEs showed a higher severity profile for the addiction severity and psychopathological variables than the groups with 0 ACEs and 1–2 ACEs. Logistic regression showed that problems related to the group with ≥3 ACEs in the total sample were psychiatric and legal problems and lifetime suicidal ideation (in men, family/social problems and lifetime suicidal ideation; in women, employment/support problems). This study supports the high prevalence of ACEs in people with SUD and the cumulative effect of ACEs. In addition, gender is a relevant factor. The implementation of assessments and treatment for ACEs is necessary in SUD treatment programs.

Research points to the substantial impact of parents' exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on parents and their children. However, most studies have been conducted in North America, and research on ACEs effects on observed parenting or on intergenerational transmission of ACE effects is limited. We therefore studied families from diverse ethnocultural backgrounds in Israel and examined whether mothers’ ACEs hampered maternal sensitivity and the quality of the home environment and whether mothers’ psychological distress mediated these links. We also explored whether mothers’ ACEs predicted children’s behavior problems indirectly through maternal psychological distress and whether maternal sensitivity and the home environment attenuated this mediating path. Participants were 232 mothers (Mchild age = 18.40 months, SD = 1.76; 63.36% non-ultra-Orthodox Jewish, 17.24% ultra-Orthodox Jewish, 19.40% Arab Muslim). Results showed mothers’ ACEs were directly associated with decreased maternal sensitivity. Mothers’ ACEs were indirectly associated with more behavior problems in children through mothers’ higher psychological distress, and maternal sensitivity moderated this indirect link; it was significant only for mothers who showed lower sensitivity. Findings emphasize the significant role ACEs play in early mother-child relationships. The importance of including ACE assessment in research and practice with families of infants and toddlers is discussed.

This study replicated and extended Narayan and colleagues’ (2018) original benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs) study. We examined associations between adverse and positive childhood experiences and mental health problems in a second sample of low-income, ethnically diverse pregnant individuals (replication). We also examined effects of childhood experiences on perinatal mental health problems while accounting for contemporaneous support and stress (extension). Participants were 175 pregnant individuals (M = 28.07 years, SD = 5.68, range = 18–40; 38.9% White, 25.7% Latina, 16.6% Black, 12.0% biracial/multiracial, 6.8% other) who completed standardized instruments on BCEs, childhood maltreatment and exposure to family dysfunction, sociodemographic stress, and perinatal depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. They completed the Five-Minute Speech Sample at pregnancy and postpartum to assess social support from the other biological parent. Higher family dysfunction predicted higher prenatal depression symptoms, while higher BCEs and prenatal social support predicted lower prenatal PTSD symptoms. Prenatal depression and prenatal PTSD symptoms were the most robust predictors of postnatal depression and PTSD symptoms, respectively, although higher postnatal social support also predicted lower postnatal PTSD symptoms. Findings replicated many patterns found in the original BCEs study and indicated that contemporaneous experiences are also associated with perinatal mental health problems.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex, heterogeneous mental health problem that can be challenging to identify, assess, understand, diagnose and treat. This article provides an overview and critique of key topics, literature and principles to inform comprehensive and meticulous assessment of PTSDs. Although expert witnesses are the target audience, this article will have relevance for identifying, assessing, understanding and diagnosing PTSDs in all clinical contexts. A range of topics relevant to assessment are discussed, including: the complex relationship between trauma and PTSDs; DSM-5-TR PTSD and ICD-11 PTSD and complex PTSD diagnoses and the similarities and differences between them; the clinical presentation of PTSDs; psychological models of PTSDs; how to approach assessment and differential diagnosis; the impact of PTSD on neuropsychological abilities and functioning (disability); causation, reliability and assessing PTSDs when this is being considered as a legal defence; evidence-based interventions (medication, psychological therapy, when is the ‘right time’ for therapy, contraindications); and prognosis (if untreated, how long therapy/change takes). Given ongoing debate, the article proposes that trauma exposure is best defined in future iterations of the DSM and ICD as exposure to one or more psychologically threatening or horrific experiences that are overwhelming.