Jon Pinon

Jon Pinon4/13/15

SUPA Human Behavior

Ms. Schram

1. Raposa, Elizabeth B., Patricia A. Brennan, Constance L. Hammen, Frances O'Callaghan, and Jake M. Najman. "Early Adversity and Health Outcomes in Young Adulthood: The Role of Ongoing Stress." Health Psychology 33 (2014): 410-18. Web.2. Negative attributes of early life, such as chaotic/abusive households and low socioeconomic status, have been associated with adverse health outcomes later in life. Similarly, several markers of disease and death can be traced back to these adverse environments.3. The objective was to examine prospective effects of exposure to stressful conditions in early childhood on physical health in young adulthood. Additionally, the researchers wished to explore continuing exposure to stressors in adolescence as possible mechanisms of this relationship.

4. The design was that of an observational study, particularly a longitudinal survey, to examine this relationship over an extended period of time.

5. The participants consisted of 705 mother-child pairs from a previous study regarding childrens development through age 5. This was a community sample that consisted of multiple children whose parents reported depressive symptoms, making the sample a fairly representative one.6. Mothers were asked to complete measures regarding factors such as parental conflicts and economic status at four points in their childs life: their first prenatal visit, 3-4 days after the childs birth, 6 months after birth, and at age 5. Additional measures were completed when the children reached the ages of 15 and 20 (the children would also fill out their own measures at this time). At and between each of these points, the mothers also filled out regular questionnaires regarding similar subjects as well as the mental state of the child.

7. The data showed a definitive correlation between early adversity and elevated stress levels at ages 15-20, which in turn had both direct and indirect (via depression) effects on health during this time.8. The results showed that early adverse conditions have lasting implications on physical health later in life, which is consistent with previous studies. The main limitations of the study, despite its conceptual and methodological advantages, include a lack of focus on several common adversity variables such as neglect, the two physical health outcomes used in path model analyses not representing directly observed markers of disease risk, and the fact that the community sample was overselected for the presence of maternal depression. Future studies would benefit from examining different ways in which adversities affect health, studying biological pathways to these adversities and including potential biological mechanisms in order to fill in the gaps left in this study.