Abstract
Experiencing childhood adversity (CA) is associated with increased risks of deleterious outcomes in adulthood, including physical health and mental health disorders, socioeconomic insecurity, difficulties with social functioning, and criminal behaviour.
Exposures to CA can include any experience in childhood that causes physical or psychological distress, for example, abuse, household dysfunction, financial hardship or change in family structure or mental health problems. Prevalence estimates indicate that CA is common, and it is estimated that 55% of the population of Aotearoa New Zealand have experienced at least one of these risks during childhood. Consequently, CA has become a prominent area of research in many disciplines.
Although there are strong associations between CA and increased risk for adulthood adverse outcomes, many people who have experienced childhood adversity do not suffer the associated harms. This thesis sought to identify and examine protective factors that predicted resilience following CA using data from the Christchurch Health and Development Study (CHDS). This was addressed through five studies: a review of the CHDS, a systematic review, and three empirical studies.
The first review provided an in-depth summary of the CHDS. This review evidenced the strength of evidence available in the CHDS data, which would be key for addressing the methodological limitations of previous research. The review of the CHDS also illustrates the direction of research in the Study towards resilience and mediating processes.
Second, the systematic review identified key outcomes and protective factors following adversity, and highlighted gaps in this area of literature.
Based on these reviews, three empirical studies examined potential protective factors for outcomes of CA using data from the CHDS. These analyses included the roles of social support and academic functioning (achievement and aspirations) as protective factors for internalising disorders and socioeconomic outcomes following cumulative exposure to CA. Across multiple indicators of the outcomes, social support in adulthood was found to be a protective factor for internalising disorders and socioeconomic outcomes
following CA. Also, both objective measures of academic achievement, and subjective measures of academic aspirations were protective for socioeconomic outcomes following CA. Effect sizes were present, but were not large, suggesting that the protective effect of these factors alone does not determine resilience following childhood adversity.
Taken together, this thesis has identified and examined protective factors that may reduce disparities in mental health and socioeconomic functioning associated with exposure to CA. Therefore, investment in programs that enhance or protect social support, academic achievement and aspirations may be warranted alongside current prevention efforts, to minimise the burden of CA. It is important to note that there is still
a need for more high quality, longitudinal research on protective factors before evidence-based interventions can be developed.