Simply put, childhood trauma increases the likelihood that later-life health problems will arise in almost any situation.

Childhood trauma not only has the potential to directly contribute to a variety of physical and mental conditions, such as depression and anxiety, but also to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and obesity. What’s worse, there are instances in which the past trauma is not even acknowledged, leading to the treatment of the symptoms but not the underlying cause. 

These are the long-term effects of childhood trauma on one’s health.

Common Types Of Childhood Trauma

By examining 25 years of data from the nationally representative National Longitudinal Study of Youth, Williams and her collaborator Brian Karl Finch of the University of Southern California looked at a variety of ACEs: 

• Emotional neglect.
• abuse on both a physical and sexual level.
• mental illness or alcoholism in the household.
• parental absence brought on by a divorce, separation, or incarceration.
• Parental death.

The more ACEs women were exposed to as children, the more likely it was that they would give birth early (before age 25) or to their first child outside of marriage, which in turn was strongly associated with poorer health by the time they were in their 40s.

According to the researchers, having a socioeconomically disadvantaged upbringing and experiencing childhood adversity have equal effects on early and unmarried childbearing.

According to Williams, trauma exposure has an impact on impulsivity, the capacity to form close relationships, and emotional control. Prior research has connected ACEs to risky sexual behavior, adolescent childbearing, and unintended pregnancy. ACEs, early and nonmarital childbearing, and health issues in later life are all connected, according to this new study.

How Does Childhood Trauma Affect?

Trauma And The Effect On Brain Development

The formative years of life are critical for brain development, and how we learn, react, and behave later in life depends on how our brains develop during this time. A child’s brain is frequently compared to that of a dry sponge because it is ready and quick to absorb a lot of water, or in this case, information.

However, biological processes are not required for brain development. Instead, it is influenced by external factors such as parenting, nutrition, and prenatal care. A child learns important life lessons like the limits of right and wrong, their ethical compass, how to critically think, and how to protect themselves from potential dangers through the information gathered and interpretation of these experiences.

However, traumatic past events (or traumatizing situations like being left without a parent or caregiver) have a significant impact on how a child’s brain develops, which alters how they will interact with society as adults. For instance, a traumatic event during childhood may prepare the brain to anticipate fear at every turn. Chronic stress has been identified as “one of the six leading causes of death,” which means that adults, will cause them to feel more stressed out in their daily lives.

Therefore, it is essential to comprehend and accept our past experiences in order to heal the illnesses that develop in adulthood.

The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study

Harris talks about the Adverse Childhood Experience Study, which was carried out at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 1995 and 1997 by Drs. Vince Felitti and Bob Anda.

Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, include physical, emotional, or sexual abuse; physical or emotional neglect; parental separation or divorce; domestic violence; and parents’ mental illness, substance abuse, or incarceration. These researchers asked 17,500 adults about their ACEs. 

A point was added to the participant’s ACE score for each question that was answered “yes.”

The ACE scores were compared to health outcomes by the researchers after that. 

It was a startling discovery. 67 percent of people in the population had at least one ACE, and 12.6% had four or more. ACEs are widespread. The outcomes for health deteriorate as the ACE score increases. 

An individual’s risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, for instance, increased by 2.5 times if they had an ACE score of four or higher compared to someone with a zero. It was also 2.5 times higher for hepatitis. It was 4.5 times higher for depression. It was twelve times higher than the suicide risk. 

The findings of other studies on the long-term impact of childhood trauma are reliable. A study published in Psychiatric Times examined the relationship between traumatic childhood experiences and suicidality in adulthood.

22,559 people with an average age of 47 gave data, which were collected. This study discovered that adults who experienced physical, sexual, and domestic abuse as children had a significantly higher rate of suicide attempts. 

The Difficulty Of Learning New Behaviors In Adulthood

Our capacity to “think differently” presents a challenge when trying to get over something like childhood trauma as an adult. It can be difficult to change perspective and arrive at a level of acceptance that helps us lessen the effects associated with trauma because adult brains are frequently less porous than childhood brains.

This is especially true for those who were severely traumatized as children. One’s physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being will suffer as a result of past trauma, and brain development is likely to have been stopped or adversely affected as a result. It can be challenging to acquire a new perspective on the world, then.

Chronic Stress Leads To Health Issues

More often than not, trauma survivors experience stronger adrenaline spikes than non-victims.

Over time, chronic stress may result from these repeated surges’ physical wear and tear on the body. 

Chronic stress causes the body to become more inflammatory and is the root cause of many diseases, including autoimmune and cardiovascular conditions.

Additionally, ongoing stress encourages cancer to spread via the lymphatic systems. This study demonstrates how stress hormones interfere with the lymphatic system and serve as “fertilizers” to spread cancer. 

Chronic stress can also cause the following health problems: 

• Anxiety 
• Depression 
• Headaches
• Heart disease
• Sleep problems 
• Memory and concentration impairment 
• Weight gain or loss 

Additionally connected to addiction is unresolved childhood trauma. Research has repeatedly shown that childhood trauma is a major contributing factor to substance abuse.

According to the program director at Camino, one of the main causes of relapse is stress, and one of the main causes of stress is unresolved or unaddressed trauma.” 

The bottom line is that early childhood trauma has long-lasting effects that can manifest as behavioral issues, mental/emotional problems, or health problems. 

Childhood Adversity Increases Women’s Cancer Risk More Than Men’s

Another recent study reveals that women are more likely to develop cancer over their lifetimes than men, despite having experienced more childhood adversity.³ This study is among several studies supported by Eunice Kennedy Shriver Insights into early-life interventions that could benefit one’s health later in life are provided by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), which is looking into the long-term effects of childhood adversity.

Researchers looked at whether respondents reported any of eight types of ACEs and a lifetime cancer diagnosis (aside from skin cancer) using information from the 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a national survey of 112,000 American adults 18 and older. Their study, which took into account smoking and other factors, revealed that seven ACEs (physical, sexual, or emotional abuse; or living with a person who was mentally ill, a problem drinker, a drug user, or in a household where adults treated each other violently) were linked to higher cancer risk in women. Only one ACE—emotional abuse—was related to a higher risk of developing cancer in men. No matter whether their parents were married or divorced, neither men nor women have a higher chance of developing cancer.

The researchers, who are from the Universities of California, Los Angeles and Stony Brook University, point out that women experience many ACEs at higher rates than men and that sexual abuse can expose them to cancer-causing viruses like HPV. The researchers note that women who have experienced sexual abuse as children might avoid undergoing cervical cancer screenings, and they advise making less invasive alternatives available.

Conclusion

The recovery journey isn’t necessarily about eradicating childhood trauma – ultimately, things like sexual abuse and parental neglect can’t ever be ignored or forgotten. Instead, effective treatment focuses on comprehending the impact these events have had on a person as an adult and learning the tools and techniques to help manage, accept, and regain control over negative childhood traumas. In this way, the all-too-common side effects can lessen, and a person can lead a happier and healthier life.