title: Childhood misfortune and adult health: enduring and cascadic effects on somatic and psychological symptoms?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This article traces the influence of early misfortune on somatic and psychological symptoms, examining whether the health disadvantages endure and/or worsen over a decade.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study uses two waves of data from the Midlife Development in the United States study. Structural equation models are used to assess change in somatic and psychological symptoms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Findings reveal that childhood abuse is associated with more initial somatic and psychological symptoms among American adults, but that family structure and financial strain had little association with baseline adult symptoms. The effects of abuse were not observed at Wave 2 (W2), net of Wave 1 (W1) symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest an enduring-but not cascadic-effect of childhood abuse on adult health. There was little evidence that the consequences of early misfortune waned over the course of time or were less substantial for older adults; but neither did these early life experiences contribute to worsened symptoms over a decade of observation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. Markus.schafer@utoronto.ca
authors.forename: Markus H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Schafer
authors.forename: Kenneth F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Ferraro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology