title: Prevalence of negative life events and chronic adversities in European pre- and primary-school children: results from the IDEFICS study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Children are not always recognized as being susceptible to stress, although childhood stressors may originate from multiple events in their everyday surroundings with negative effects on children's health.
  
  
  METHODS
  As there is a lack of large-scale, European prevalence data on childhood adversities, this study presents the prevalence of (1) negative life events and (2) familial and social adversities in 4637 European pre- and primary-school children (4-11 years old), using a parentally-reported questionnaire embedded in the IDEFICS project ('Identification and prevention of Dietary- and lifestyle-induced health EFfects In Children and infantS').
  
  
  RESULTS
  The following findings were observed: (1) Certain adversities occur only rarely, while others are very regular (i.e. parental divorce); (2) A large percentage of children is shielded from stressors, while a small group of children is exposed to multiple, accumulating adversities; (3) The prevalence of childhood adversity is influenced by geographical location (e.g. north versus south), age group and sex; (4) Childhood adversities are associated and co-occur, resulting in potential cumulative childhood stress.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrated the importance of not only studying traumatic events but also of focusing on the early familial and social environment in childhood stress research and indicated the importance of recording or monitoring childhood adversities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Ghent University, UZ-2BlokA De Pintelaan 185, 9000, Ghent, Belgium. barbara.vanaelst@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vanaelst
authors.forename: Inge
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Huybrechts
authors.forename: Ilse
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: De Bourdeaudhuij
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bammann
authors.forename: Charalambos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hadjigeorgiou
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Eiben
authors.forename: Kenn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Konstabel
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Michels
authors.forename: Denes
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Molnar
authors.forename: Luis A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pigeot
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reisch
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Siani
authors.forename: Krishna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vyncke
authors.forename: Stefaan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Henauw