The Past Hurts: Examining the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Abuse on Adult Psychological, Physiological, and Interpersonal Well-Being

Open Access
- Author:
- Ruiz, Andrea Liza
- Graduate Program:
- Sociology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- May 28, 2018
- Committee Members:
- David R Johnson, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
David R Johnson, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Gary J Adler Jr., Committee Member
Roger Kent Finke, Committee Member
Sandra T Azar, Outside Member - Keywords:
- child abuse
life-course
health
well-being
childhood trauma
resilience
coping style
interpersonal relationships
religion
social support
social optimism - Abstract:
- One of the most consistent findings in research on childhood abuse is its noxious effects on outcomes related to health and well-being. Work in this area has explored the topic of resiliency, having identified a number of factors that might buffer against the negative effects of abuse. However, notably lacking in the scholarship are longitudinal studies of adults over their life-span who have faced early abuse, and moreover, what we know about resiliency is largely limited to the protective factors that help young victims of abuse overcome their trauma and thrive. Less is known about what it takes for adult victims to achieve resiliency in the face of their traumatic childhoods. To address this large limitation in the literature on childhood abuse and resiliency, this dissertation uses data from the National Survey of Midlife Development (MiDUS), [1995] [2005] [2015] to examine the long-term effects of multiple types of childhood abuse on three dimensions of adult well-being: psychological, physiological, and interpersonal. In line with resiliency theory—which provides a useful framework for considering how certain factors can operate to encourage positive development—each chapter sets out to test specific factors that are protective and help to offset the negative effects of childhood abuse on each of the three outcomes. The following manuscript is organized into three sections that assess: (1) psychological well-being and the role of coping, (2) physical health and the role of religiosity, and finally (3) relationships and the roles of social contact and optimism. The first empirical chapter focuses on psychological well-being over the life-course, and explores the protective effects of three types of coping styles: problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, and the less understood food-focused coping. Consistent with cumulative disadvantage, it is expected that victims of abuse will have worse psychological outcomes when compared to non-victims. However, these individuals may utilize certain coping mechanisms that may protect them from the negative effects of abuse on psychological well-being over their life-span. Results from these analyses point to two important findings. First, emotion-focused coping exacerbates psychological well-being over time for all individuals. However, these negative effects are more pronounced for victims of physical abuse. Individuals who reported physical abuse during childhood experience sharper declines in their overall mental well-being as they engage in more emotion-focused coping. Secondly, results indicate that while food-focused coping is associated with declines in psychological well-being over time for all individuals, this style of coping is protective for victims of physical abuse. Individuals who reported being physically abused experience sharp increases in their psychological well-being as they engage more in coping styles involving food and eating. The second empirical chapter analyzes trajectories of self-rated physical health, while exploring the roles of private religiosity and public religiosity as protective factors, since religion has been found to have strong, positive associations with outcomes related to health and well-being. I explore this association within the context of childhood abuse, asking how these religious dimensions work for adult victims of abuse and their physical health over the adult life-span. Findings from these analyses point to interesting findings. First, although public religiosity is consistently associated with better health outcomes over time, it failed to have protective effects against childhood abuse on outcomes of physical health. However, while more engagement in private religious behaviors is associated with declines in physical health, this was not true for everyone. Individuals who reported physical abuse showed improved physical health over time as their levels of private religious engagement increased. Finally, the third empirical chapter focuses on interpersonal relationships over the life-span, while assessing two psychosocial dimensions as protective factors. In this chapter, I use an interpersonal perspective and consider social optimism and frequency of social contact with others as potential buffers against the harmful effects of abuse on later interpersonal relationships. Findings from these analyses indicate two important findings. First, increases in social contact with friends, neighbors, and family members is associated with more positive interpersonal relationships over time, and this is true for all individuals. Victims and non-victims, alike, fare better interpersonal relationships over time as their social contact increases. However, this positive effect is significantly weaker and less pronounced for more severe experiences of childhood abuse. Specifically, victims of cumulative abuse (both emotional and physical) benefit less (and least) from social contact in comparison to others. When compared to all other groups (emotional only, physical only, no abuse), victims of cumulative abuse have the worst adult relationships over the life-course even when they engage at similar or comparable levels of social contact.