News release

From: The University of New South Wales

Study offers hope that childhood trauma doesn’t determine your future

New research from UNSW Sydney has found that childhood trauma does not inevitably lead to poor outcomes in adulthood—and that many people who experience adversity still thrive for decades afterwards.

The 12-year study, published in American Psychologist, followed 1,668 Australian adults to investigate how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) shape mental wellbeing across adult life.

The researchers identified two wellbeing pathways: a “resilient” group who maintained high wellbeing over time, and a “risk” group, and found two thirds of people maintained strong mental wellbeing into adulthood despite childhood trauma.

While individuals with ACEs were twice as likely to fall into the low-wellbeing group than individuals with no ACEs, the findings show that adversity in childhood does not predetermine poor adult health.

“Childhood adversity can be traumatic, but it doesn’t have to determine a person’s whole life,” says study lead author Justine Gatt.

Those in the “ACE-resilient” group—people who sustained high wellbeing despite early adversity — experienced profound long-term benefits.

Over 12 years, this group: 

• Was 74% less likely to develop a psychiatric illness.
• Was 70% less likely to become obese.
• Faced significantly lower risks of migraines, sleep problems and alcohol issues.
• Reported better relationships, greater social support, higher life satisfaction and more positive coping strategies.

“Mental health should be treated as a positive capacity to be built, rather than a crisis to be managed,” Prof Gatt says.

The researchers want to see programs that build resilience expanded and argue that a focus on prevention is likely to reduce downstream healthcare costs related to psychiatric conditions, obesity, sleep disorders, and substance misuse.