Children in Canada have been subjected to more childhood trauma over the last few decades than their predecessors, which means more adults are headed for an emotionally unhealthy adulthood, says a University of Alberta researcher.
Dr. Gus Thompson, a professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, looked at statistics from the 1994/95 Canadian National Population Health Survey of more than 15,000 households. He found the younger the respondent, the greater the reported prevalence of depression. He also found childhood trauma has risen markedly faster for girls than for boys. His paper "Increasing Childhood Trauma in Canada: Findings from the National Population Health Survey, 1994/95" appears in the current edition of The Canadian Journal of Public Health.
"Childhood trauma is a precursor of unhappy and unhealthy adulthood, and since childhood trauma appears to be on the increase, the implications of the study are serious," said Thompson, an adjunct professor in epidemiology in the Department of Public Health Sciences.
Trauma was measured by a seven-item index and included questions related to physical abuse, fearful experiences, hospitalization, being sent away from home and parental disturbance. Most of the seven traumatic events reflected in the survey, with the exception of hospital stays, are preventable, said Thompson.
The effect of childhood trauma might have an influential role in later difficulties, such as the expression of psychiatric symptoms and involvement in social problem behaviour, said Thompson. Anxiety and depression are likely consequences of childhood trauma, but increases in physical illness may also be expected as a response to stress, he said.
"Not only are today's children likely to be unhappier than their predecessors, but without some dramatic change in their life course, they will be less well-equipped for the task of creating a better Canada for the children of future generations," he said.
Although preventing childhood trauma is beyond the scope of his work, Thompson hopes professionals who study child development and family life have clues to offer. "If the data presented here have any validity, then there is some urgency to the need to seek out and heed their advice."
The UofA in Edmonton, Alberta is one of Canada's premier teaching and research universities serving more than 30,000 students with 6,000 faculty and staff. It continues to lead the country with the most 3M Teaching Fellows, Canada's only national award recognizing teaching excellence.
Journal
Canadian Journal of Public Health