Adverse childhood experiences and unhealthy lifestyles later in life: evidence from SHARE countries

Abstract

This paper investigates whether exposure to adverse experiences during childhood, such as physical and emotional abuse, affects the likelihood of unhealthy habits later in life. The novelty of our approach is twofold. First, we exploit the recently published data on adverse childhood experiences in 19 European countries from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement (SHARE), which enables us to account for country-specific heterogeneity and investigate the long-term effects of exposure to adverse early-life circumstances (such as smoking, drinking, excess weight and obesity) on unhealthy lifestyles later in life. Second, we estimate the effect of childhood trauma on unhealthy lifestyles separately for European macro-regions using a clustering of countries emphasising cultural differences. Our results highlight the positive effect of exposure to adverse childhood experiences on the probability of unhealthy lifestyles in the long run. Harm from parents is associated with a higher probability of smoking in adulthood, while child neglect and a poor relationship with parents increase the probability of smoking later in life.