Trauma may affect the mental health of young adults just as much as children

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-08-30 01:00

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Adults aged up to 30 may experience just as much distress in response to traumatic or stressful life events as children and teenagers do, according to international research. The researchers used data from a set of US studies that recorded traumatic and stressful events and subsequent emotional symptoms including anxiety and depression for a total of 3,258 people at various life stages from preschool to young adulthood. The researchers say that across the lifespan studied, stressful and traumatic events were linked with a similar level of emotional distress regardless of age. The only clear exception, the researchers say, appeared to be a stronger link between stressful events and emotional distress from age 23-30. The team says this contradicts beliefs that young adults have developed coping skills that make them less vulnerable to negative life experiences, which may be because by that time they have already had more negative life experiences weighing them down.