Abstract
Research has linked childhood abuse to a plethora of adverse health outcomes in adulthood 1,2 . However, whether positive experiences in adulthood much beyond cessation of abuse exposure can offset these adverse health risks remains unclear. Using a sample of 6,078 adults from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS), we examined whether adult self-reported social support decreased mortality risk associated with self-reported exposure to three types of childhood abuse: severe physical abuse, modest physical abuse and emotional abuse. Greater self-reported social support was related to reduced mortality risk; however, this relation was qualified by exposure to childhood abuse. For each type of abuse, self-reported social support was linked to a larger reduction in mortality risk among individuals reporting childhood abuse compared with those reporting minimal or no exposure to abuse. These findings suggest that supportive relationships in midlife can partly offset the mortality risks that seem to be set in motion by childhood experiences of abuse.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 261-268 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Nature human behaviour |
Volume | 2 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 1 2018 |
Funding
The MIDUS study was supported by the National Institute on Aging (P01-AG020166) and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network. Authors’ efforts were supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01-HL122328 to G.E.M; F32-HL134276 to J.J.C.). The funders had no role in study design, collection and analysis of data, manuscript preparation, or the decision to publish.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Behavioral Neuroscience