In a way, the pathologies of the mind remain a mystery to science, the causes of these conditions have been studied in many fields, from genetics to social. After extensive work, a group of researchers concluded that the main risk factor for mental illness is childhood adversity.
When it comes to childhood adversity, these are situations of abuse, physical, psychological or sexual abuse, as well as traumatic experiences (significant loss or significant disability), it is surprising that at this stage formal science and psychoanalysis come together.
- The claim that childhood adversity is the main risk factor for mental illness comes from a study by The Dell School of Medicine in the United States.
- Conducted by Charles Nemeroff.
- MD.
- Ph.
- D.
- Professor and director of Mulva’s Department of Neuroscience Psychiatry at the Dell Clinic and Director of the Institute for Early Adversity Research.
“The best way to raise good children is to make them happy” – Oscar Wilde-
Scientists who conducted this study not only noted that childhood adversity was the main risk factor for mental illness, but also claimed that these experiences had other serious consequences.
First, a child who has had difficult or traumatic experiences has a shorter life expectancy than a child who has grown up in a stable environment. The study links child abuse to the subsequent development of conditions such as obesity, stroke, diabetes, certain forms of cancer and cardiovascular problems.
From a psychiatric point of view, abused children are at increased risk of developing addictions, including alcoholism, as well as depression and all kinds of disorders. Inquiry.
The study indicates that, according to estimates to date, one in four children is the victim of some form of abuse or death, the most common cases being those in which psychological abuse occurs and neglect or neglect.
According to the data collected, at least 46% of patients with depression and 57% of those with bipolar disorder have this type of history, in addition, the sooner the abuse occurs, the more serious their consequences will be and the more difficult it will be to help. these patients.
Similarly, the seriousness and duration of abuses are also determining factors; in all cases, researchers point out that all forms of child abuse have lifelong consequences and reiterate that child abuse is by far the main risk factor for mental illness.
One of the aspects highlighted in the study is that while psychological abuse and neglect are the two most common forms of violence, they are also the least attended to in time, in fact, they are forms of violence that leave no visible consequences at first sight.
In fact, many children who have been exposed to these situations never see a mental health professional when they are adults because they do not believe they have been abused.
They end up disappointed with life or their own performance, but do not seek the causes of the abuse they have suffered, many people believe that violence is characterized only by physical or sexual violence.
One of the most surprising data from this study is intergenerational genetic trauma, a phenomenon that has been extensively studied in Holocaust victims, is a detected change in the eggs and sperm of people who have suffered severe psychological trauma.
Experts point out that in these cases, and through epigenetic mechanisms, the effect of trauma is genetically transmitted to the next generation. This would predispose many people to developing a particular type of stress that coincides with post-traumatic stress.
Finally, researchers note that changes have been observed in the brains of abused children, which tend to have a lower volume of gray matter, as well as a smaller thickness in the ventral and dorsal prefrontal cortex. The topic is still necessary to delve into all the discoveries made.