Positive Childhood Experiences and Adult Health Outcomes
Or: How listening to your children helps them become healthy adults.
In June of 2023, Dr. Cher Huang and colleagues published a paper in the journal Pediatrics demonstrating a clear association between positive childhood experiences (PCEs) and adult physical and mental health.[1] The authors found that adults with more of these childhood experiences rated their own physical health more highly and were diagnosed with fewer physical and mental health conditions. Less depression, less asthma, a higher assessment of their physical health.
We’ve long recognized that social determinants of health (access to quality healthcare and education, economic stability, community factors) directly impact our physical and mental health.[2] Similarly, the negative health impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (e.g. witnessing or experiencing violence, disruption of the household) has been definitively proven. Dr. Huang’s study aimed to determine whether specific positive childhood experiences impact adult health independent of these and other known factors. She and her colleagues used a large dataset to evaluate the impact of positive childhood experiences if these and other relevant factors were held constant. And indeed, the association between PCEs and better health outcomes held.
So what can we do with this information? We already knew that it’s a good idea to foster a trusting relationship with our children, to try to hear and see them. But research like this can help focus our intention to build a supportive environment around our children.
Items one through three on the PCE list seem at least a little under our control. Talk to your children. Ask them questions, listen to the answers, and ask for clarifications. If your ten-year-old looks mopey, ask: “You look upset about something. Can we talk about it?” If your teenager accuses you hotly: “You don’t GET IT!” consider responding: “You’re right. I’m sure I don’t really get what you’re dealing with. I’d love it if you’d help me understand.” Items four through six seem a little harder to tackle, but I think that parents can foster these PCEs, too. We can help our children think about what specific things they value in their friendships and school experiences and encourage them to build on those values. We can’t necessarily make the neighbors more helpful, but we can encourage our kids to be helpful neighbors, which could positively impact the neighborhood dynamic.
Efforts to draw out kids and teenagers may be rebuffed. But even the inquiries that are met with silence can matter. Demonstrating sincere interest in our children or inviting their confidence may not help in the moment but will likely have the effect of letting our children know that we are ready and eager to listen. And it will pay dividends not only in our relationships with our children but in their health and well-being for years to come.
[1] Huang et al. Pediatrics 2023 Volume 152, Issue 1
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