How do child and adolescent adversity influence adult health outcomes?

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We believe that our research has multiple important implications. From a theoretical perspective, the findings highlight the importance of constructing integrated models that unite social, psychological, and biological variables, and adopting a biopsychosocial perspective (e.g. the allostatic load model and weathering hypothesis) to enhance scientific knowledge of the social determinants of health. From a methodological perspective, the present study develops an alternative measure of childhood adversity involving multiple dimensions and time effects. From a clinical practice perspective, our results potentially inform the development of clinical practices that focus on improving psychosocial adjustment (i.e. improving self-esteem, reducing negative affect, enhancing self-control) through family and neighborhood resilience mechanisms to mitigate the consequences of early adversities on health outcomes.

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