The Impact of Early Adversity on Health

Abstract

This review will be guided by the model pictured in the article. The model maintains that a stressful or harsh early environment, in conjunction with genetic or acquired risks, is linked to adverse health outcomes in adulthood via its impact on the (in)ability to develop effective socioemotional skills; through a propensity to experience chronic negative affect; by affecting health habits adversely; and by influencing the neural pathways that ultimately regulate neuroendocrine stress responses. Drawing on the concept of allostatic load, we suggest that these pathways contribute to the experience of chronic or recurring stress which, in interaction with genetic predispositions and acquired risks such as poor health habits, lead to the accumulating damage to biological systems that ultimately results in risks for mental and physical health disorders. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)