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Childhood abuse/neglect and temporal patterns in late-life anxiety
Hamzah Bakouni1,2, Marie Claude Ouimet1,2, Sophie Desjardins3
1Faculté de Médecine et Des Sciences De La Santé, Université de Sherbrooke, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada.
Aging & Mental Health
|May 25, 2022
Summary
Childhood abuse or neglect is linked to new or ongoing anxiety in older adults. Daily hassles and psychological resilience may explain these connections, highlighting potential prevention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Psychiatry
- Public Health
Background:
- Childhood abuse and neglect are known risk factors for anxiety.
- The specific relationship and underlying mechanisms between childhood adversity and late-life anxiety patterns are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between childhood abuse/neglect and temporal patterns of anxiety in older adults.
- To examine potential mediating factors, including traumatic events, daily hassles, psychological resilience, and cortisol activity.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from 724 French-speaking older adults in the Étude sur la santé des aînés - Services study.
- Assessed past-month anxiety using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale and childhood abuse/neglect via questionnaires.
- Employed multinomial regression and mediation bootstrapping analyses to test for mediators.
Main Results:
- Anxiety absence, remission, incidence, and persistence were observed in 45.3%, 25.3%, 8.7%, and 20.7% of participants, respectively.
- Childhood abuse/neglect was associated with incident and persistent late-life anxiety.
- Daily hassles mediated the link between childhood adversity and anxiety incidence, while daily hassles and psychological resilience mediated the link with anxiety persistence.
Conclusions:
- Childhood abuse/neglect is associated with the onset and continuation of anxiety in older age.
- Psychological resilience and daily hassles appear to be key mediators in this relationship.
- Findings suggest potential targets for prevention and personalized treatment of anxiety in older adults.
Keywords:
Cortisolabuse/neglectanxietychildhood adversitiesincidenceolder adultspersistenceremissionresilienceMore Related Videos
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