Dimensions of Child Adversity and Health Risk Behaviors in Young Adulthood - PROJECT ABSTRACT
Child adversity is a global public health problem. Exposure to childhood adversity such as physical/sexual
abuse, domestic violence, community violence, poverty, neglect, and institutionalization is common;; estimates
range from 12% in Europe to 64% in Asia. Childhood adversity impacts both neurological and psychological
development and is frequently found to be a strong predictor of adverse outcomes in adulthood, including risk
behaviors such as interpersonal violence, alcohol problems, and sexual risk-taking. Contrary to the cumulative
risk model, the predominant framework used to explain this relationship, distinguishing between deprivation
and threat, the Dimensional Model of Adversity and Psychopathology argues that there are unique emotional,
cognitive, and neurobiological pathways that underlie the association between dimensions of child adversity
and developmental outcomes. However, importantly, there have not been studies from low- and-middle income
country contexts, where it is possible that the environmental and cultural context could moderate the
relationship between adversity and cognitive functioning. The burden of psychological conditions falls heavily in
these countries. However, psychological research focuses narrowly on Americans, who comprise less than 5
percent of the world’s population. The specific aims of this research are to: (1) Identify the elements of
adversity in early and middle childhood and their related risk behavior outcomes in adolescence and young
adulthood;; (2) Determine to what extent the relationships in Aim 1 are mediated by different indicators of
cognitive functioning and emotional regulation;; (3) Determine to what extent the relationships between the
elements of adversity in early and middle childhood and the indicators of cognitive functioning and emotional
regulation are moderated by parenting behaviors and cultural norms of parenting;; and (4) To understand the
effects of the research cross-culturally and across different longitudinal data sets. This study will utilize
longitudinal cohort data from Parenting Across Cultures and Young Lives-Peru. Together, these sources
contain 17 waves of data among 3 cohorts, spanning childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood with
participants from 10 different countries. This investigation can help to inform intervention strategies to prevent
risky behaviors among youth who have been exposed to adverse experiences in childhood. To support the
successful execution of this research project and promote the applicant’s growth into an independent
investigator, additional training during the fellowship period will be sought to enhance the applicant’s research
network, quantitative analysis skills, and subject matter knowledge in developmental neuroscience. Together,
this proposed research and training plan will lay the foundation for the applicant’s future career as an
independently funded developmental science researcher focused on the cognitive and emotional development
of children and youth who have been exposed to adversity.
