Type and developmental timing of childhood adversity predicts psychopathology symptoms in a South African birth cohort

Abstract

Background

Childhood adversity is widespread globally and is one of the strongest predictors of later psychopathology. However, the differential effects of type and timing of childhood adversities on childhood psychopathology remain unclear, highlighting the need to explore which life-course hypotheses (sensitive periods, accumulation of exposure, and/or recency of exposure) best explain these associations. Of particular importance, there is a lack of research in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), where children experience higher rates of adversity relative to children in high-income countries (HIC).

Methods

Participants included 787 children and their mothers from a South African birth cohort, the Drakenstein Child Health Study. Mothers reported child exposure to adversity from birth to 8 years of age across six adversity categories. We used the two-stage Structured Life-Course Modeling Approach (SLCMA) to examine life-course associations between childhood adversity exposures and internalizing/externalizing symptoms measured using the Child Behavior Checklist at age 8 years.

Results

Maternal psychopathology, maternal adverse events, child food insecurity, and child exposure to community/domestic violence had the strongest associations with child psychopathology symptoms, with varying life-course models selected. The accumulation hypothesis best explained associations of maternal adverse events (partial R² = 2.3%) and child exposure to community/domestic violence (partial R² = 1.6%) with internalizing symptoms. The combined middle childhood sensitive period (age > 5–8) and recency hypotheses model best explained associations between maternal psychopathology and internalizing (partial R² = 7.0%) or externalizing (partial R² = 5.1%) symptoms.

Conclusions

We identified that different types and timing of childhood adversity confer differential risk for childhood psychopathology symptoms in this LMIC sample. Our work has implications for strategically-timed intervention and prevention strategies to improve mental health, which may need to be specifically designed for children in LMIC.