Childhood negative experiences are ingrained in our DNA
According to scientific research, the negative experiences of the period called childhood under the age of 18 do not remain in childhood. Such conditions increase the risk of many diseases in the future, from cancer to hypertension, from obesity to diabetes and even heart attack. A study recently published in Nature indicates that the effects of negative childhood experiences are passed on to subsequent generations through genetic mechanisms. In other words, the chronic stress experienced is passed on to the next generations with our DNA and affects them negatively. Unfortunately, many people don’t even realize that scolding, mocking, or even beating a child can have serious negative effects.
We talked about this subject and research with Dr. Veysi Çeri, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at Marmara University, Faculty of Medicine, who has frequently mentioned his name in the academic world with his studies in the field. We have discussed in detail what are the negative experiences of childhood and how they affect the future of our children, what should be done, what the research tells us.
What do you mean by childhood negative experiences?
In fact, as the name suggests, although we can include all kinds of negative or difficult experiences in this group, we mean 10 basic negative experiences that have been proven by various studies by the World Health Organization to have serious negative effects on the medical and psychological well-being of the person in the following years when exposed during childhood.
What are these experiences determined by the World Health Organization?
We can say that there are elements of physical, emotional and psychological abuse in this group of experiences. For example, being subjected to ridicule, nickname, humiliation or humiliation by adults living in the home during childhood. Of course, this is just one of these kinds of experiences. Being beaten or physically abused is often described as being pushed around, slapped, thrown at oneself, or beaten to the point of bruising one’s body by an adult or someone in the household.
Apart from these two, sexual abuse and emotional abuse are also counted in these experiences. The concept of emotional abuse includes feeling unloved or cared for by family members. Seeing that family members are not looking out for each other or supporting someone is also included in the concept of emotional neglect. In short, the emotional disconnection of parents from each other is a serious source of stress for the child.
You have counted 4 different experiences yet, what are the other 6 negative experiences?
Unfortunately, I can say that the 4 negative experience groups I mentioned above are quite common, and childhood negative experiences are not limited to this. 5. Physical negligence is mentioned. This means that adequate physical conditions have not been provided for the development of the child. For example, not being able to find enough food, having to wear dirty clothes, or not being taken to the doctor when sick. Separation or divorce of parents is the 6th and domestic violence is the 7th negative life group. Having someone from the household with problematic alcohol consumption or substance use is also counted among the negative experiences. The presence of a psychiatric illness or suicide attempt in one of the households and the presence of someone who has been imprisoned is also expressed as a negative experience of the 9th and 10th childhood.
In addition, in recent years, it has been suggested that exposure to social violence, which is defined as seeing someone threaten or injure another person in the environment where the child lives, is also a serious source of stress for children and that exposure to such experiences poses a threat to the child’s medical and mental health in adulthood. In fact, the number of studies on this subject is increasing. Thus, it is stated that childhood negative experiences should be revised into 11 groups.
You mentioned that there is evidence that such childhood experiences have a negative impact on people’s medical and mental health in adulthood. What evidence is this?
A study of 17,000 people in the United States, first conducted in 1997, found that such experiences were not only common, but also closely related to various risky behaviors and diseases that threatened lives. In fact, this relationality was in a dose-response relationship, that is, a relationship in which the risk increased as the number of such experiences increased.
What do you mean by risky behavior?
For example, smoking. As the frequency of exposure to such experiences in childhood increases, the frequency of people smoking also increases. In fact, this increase can be up to 5 times. Simply put, an adult who has been exposed to such negative experiences in childhood is 5 times more likely to smoke. The same goes for early and problematic alcohol use, suicide attempts, addictive substance use, unhealthy lifestyle and diet, and unsafe or early sexual intercourse.
What diseases do such experiences increase the risk of occurrence?
You may be a little surprised, but studies show that such childhood experiences unfortunately increase the incidence of many diseases, from cancer to hypertension and heart attack. Diseases are not limited to these. For example, it is also associated with obesity and diabetes. It’s also associated with depression and sleep problems, and even problems with childbirth. For example, we see that people who have been exposed to such experiences in their childhood have a higher risk of giving birth prematurely or giving birth to children with low birth weight. There are also studies showing that it is associated with COPD, liver diseases and bone fractures. Taking it further, it is also stated that people who have been exposed to such experiences die at an earlier age.
How can you be so sure that negative childhood experiences can have such bad consequences?
As you know, today’s medicine is based on evidence, and the evidentiary value of every medical information can be different. We even have a proof-rating system that we use. Accordingly, the level of evidence is listed as 1, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3 and 4. The strongest level of evidence, 1, means that this scientific finding has been demonstrated in many randomized controlled trials. The 4 with the lowest level of evidence means that many experts on the subject are of the same opinion.
When we look at negative childhood experiences, we see that the first study conducted in 1997 is quoted by more than 7000 publications today. In other words, thousands of studies have examined this issue and almost all of them have been shown to have a negative impact on such experiences.
With today’s data, I can easily say that the level of evidence on this issue is level 1 evidence, that is, it is the most definitive evidence in the medical sense. However, it is worth noting that. Although it is certain that such childhood experiences are associated with such negative behaviors and diseases, we do not know enough about how these experiences lead to such an outcome. To put it more clearly, yes, we have no doubt that such childhood experiences are related to cancer, diabetes, or even heart attack or stroke. However, we do not have enough information about the mechanism with which such negative consequences are produced. I can say that serious efforts are being made to investigate the underlying mechanisms. I would like to state that we are conducting a comprehensive study in our country in cooperation with the World Health Organization in our country and that we will share the results of this study with the public after publication.
By what mechanism can these experiences lead to such negative consequences?
We can say that such experiences, especially if they are continuous, lead to a chronic psychological and biological stress response in the child. We know that prolonged stress negatively affects a child’s cognitive, mental, and emotional capacity, and that impairment in emotion regulation and cognitive functions has a disruptive effect on school achievement and friendship relationships. It seems that these people have fallen out of the school system in some way. Speaking of which, I would like to point out that. When I look back at the children I have evaluated during my 10 years of professional life, I can say that one of the most dangerous things for a young person for the future is to stay out of the school system. We have to eliminate all kinds of obstacles in front of the schooling of our children and young people together. Because school doesn’t just mean an academic field. At the same time, it enables children and young people to mingle with each other in an institutional environment and within certain rules and to establish positive social relations. It should be underlined that positive social influences have a huge protective effect.
Unfortunately, I cannot say that good things await a young person who is out of the school system. Families should be very careful about this. For young people who have a serious decline in school achievement or social functioning, or who somehow skip school or do not want to go to school, they should definitely get help from both child psychiatrists and educators. It should also be stated that practices such as open reading and evening high school do not replace the formal school system in any way. I would say that people who study in such schools are just as at risk as people who don’t go to school. I honestly don’t understand the expulsion of children from school as a disciplinary punishment. Such a practice would likely mean leaving a young person with an impulse or behavioural control problem at the mercy of the streets, which in many cases means that they can easily become involved in violence, bad habits and crime.
Going back to your question, these people, whose cognitive functionalities and capacity for emotion and behavioral control are severely impaired by the intense and chronic stress caused by the negative childhood experiences they face, may remain out of the school system due to the impulse control difficulties they exhibit, and they also have difficulty in forming good friendships and lack their resources of embracing, protective and protective social support. In this way, they can adopt various behavioral habits that are harmful to health. For example, smoking and drinking alcohol at an early age, using substances and engaging in dangerous activities or involvement in crime. The negative impact of such habits on health, combined with the psychological and biological stress caused by negative experiences in childhood, makes the person more vulnerable to various diseases such as obesity, diabetes, depression, heart attack and even cancer. The peculiar thing is that all of these kinds of lives, which have such intense and severe negative effects, are also preventable. In other words, increasing awareness and preventing such childhood experiences can seriously reduce the impact of these experiences on the individual and society.
As a result, can we say that negative childhood experiences do not remain in childhood?
Definitely. In fact, a new study published by researchers from Harvard and Columbia University indicates that the effects of such experiences are transmitted to subsequent generations through genetic mechanisms. In fact, I expected that exposure to negative childhood experiences would negatively affect one’s parenting abilities, and that one would have a relationship with one’s children that was not good enough. But this study showed that intergenerational influence goes far beyond that. The study showed that men who had been sexually or physically abused in childhood had a genetic change in sperm cells. So it shows that the chronic stress caused by such experiences also causes changes in our DNA, and that this change may continue to affect subsequent generations through sex cells.
Thus, the effects of negative childhood experiences may not be limited to the diseases mentioned above. In fact, with both behavioral and genetic changes it causes, its effect can be maintained throughout the generations. Thanks to this study, we can say that childhood negative experiences not only adversely affect the health of the individual and threaten the health of subsequent generations. In fact, problems such as premature birth and low birth weight, which are more common in people with negative childhood experiences mentioned above, may actually be related to these genetic changes.
Does what you are saying mean that everyone who was exposed to such experiences in their childhood will develop these diseases?
However, as the number and frequency of such experiences increases, our risk of contracting one or more of these diseases increases. For example, diabetes is seen in 9 out of every 100 people in the world. However, 14 out of every 100 people in our country have diabetes. In other words, we can say that the prevalence of diabetes in Turkey is almost 2 times higher than the frequency of diabetes in the world. The same goes for those who have had negative childhood experiences. In these people, we can say that this rate is perhaps 24 percent, which corresponds to an increase of almost 3 times. This situation is also for other diseases, if the prevalence of these diseases in the community is around 2 percent, this rate may be 5-6 percent in those with negative childhood experiences. This means that the incidence of these diseases has increased by 2-3 times compared to the normal population. As a result, every negative life does not mean that he will be exposed to this kind of life. However, it is seen that the risk of these diseases is seriously increased in those who are exposed to such experiences.
What do you mean by risky behavior?
For example, smoking. As the frequency of exposure to such experiences in childhood increases, the frequency of people smoking also increases. In fact, this increase can be up to 5 times. Simply put, an adult who has been exposed to such negative experiences in childhood is 5 times more likely to smoke. The same goes for early and problematic alcohol use, suicide attempts, addictive substance use, unhealthy lifestyle and diet, and unsafe or early sexual intercourse.
What diseases do such experiences increase the risk of occurrence?
You may be a little surprised, but studies show that such childhood experiences unfortunately increase the incidence of many diseases, from cancer to hypertension and heart attack. Diseases are not limited to these. For example, it is also associated with obesity and diabetes. It’s also associated with depression and sleep problems, and even problems with childbirth. For example, we see that people who have been exposed to such experiences in their childhood have a higher risk of giving birth prematurely or giving birth to children with low birth weight. There are also studies showing that it is associated with COPD, liver diseases and bone fractures. Taking it further, it is also stated that people who have been exposed to such experiences die at an earlier age.
How can you be so sure that negative childhood experiences can have such bad consequences?
As you know, today’s medicine is based on evidence, and the evidentiary value of every medical information can be different. We even have a proof-rating system that we use. Accordingly, the level of evidence is listed as 1, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3 and 4. The strongest level of evidence, 1, means that this scientific finding has been demonstrated in many randomized controlled trials. The 4 with the lowest level of evidence means that many experts on the subject are of the same opinion.
When we look at negative childhood experiences, we see that the first study conducted in 1997 is quoted by more than 7000 publications today. In other words, thousands of studies have examined this issue and almost all of them have been shown to have a negative impact on such experiences.
With today’s data, I can easily say that the level of evidence on this issue is level 1 evidence, that is, it is the most definitive evidence in the medical sense. However, it is worth noting that. Although it is certain that such childhood experiences are associated with such negative behaviors and diseases, we do not know enough about how these experiences lead to such an outcome. To put it more clearly, yes, we have no doubt that such childhood experiences are related to cancer, diabetes, or even heart attack or stroke. However, we do not have enough information about the mechanism with which such negative consequences are produced. I can say that serious efforts are being made to investigate the underlying mechanisms. I would like to state that we are conducting a comprehensive study in our country in cooperation with the World Health Organization in our country and that we will share the results of this study with the public after publication.
By what mechanism can these experiences lead to such negative consequences?
We can say that such experiences, especially if they are continuous, lead to a chronic psychological and biological stress response in the child. We know that prolonged stress negatively affects a child’s cognitive, mental, and emotional capacity, and that impairment in emotion regulation and cognitive functions has a disruptive effect on school achievement and friendship relationships. It seems that these people have fallen out of the school system in some way. Speaking of which, I would like to point out that. When I look back at the children I have evaluated during my 10 years of professional life, I can say that one of the most dangerous things for a young person for the future is to stay out of the school system. We have to eliminate all kinds of obstacles in front of the schooling of our children and young people together. Because school doesn’t just mean an academic field. At the same time, it enables children and young people to mingle with each other in an institutional environment and within certain rules and to establish positive social relations. It should be underlined that positive social influences have a huge protective effect.
Unfortunately, I cannot say that good things await a young person who is out of the school system. Families should be very careful about this. For young people who have a serious decline in school achievement or social functioning, or who somehow skip school or do not want to go to school, they should definitely get help from both child psychiatrists and educators. It should also be stated that practices such as open reading and evening high school do not replace the formal school system in any way. I would say that people who study in such schools are just as at risk as people who don’t go to school. I honestly don’t understand the expulsion of children from school as a disciplinary punishment. Such a practice would likely mean leaving a young person with an impulse or behavioural control problem at the mercy of the streets, which in many cases means that they can easily become involved in violence, bad habits and crime.
Going back to your question, these people, whose cognitive functionalities and capacity for emotion and behavioral control are severely impaired by the intense and chronic stress caused by the negative childhood experiences they face, may remain out of the school system due to the impulse control difficulties they exhibit, and they also have difficulty in forming good friendships and lack their resources of embracing, protective and protective social support. In this way, they can adopt various behavioral habits that are harmful to health. For example, smoking and drinking alcohol at an early age, using substances and engaging in dangerous activities or involvement in crime. The negative impact of such habits on health, combined with the psychological and biological stress caused by negative experiences in childhood, makes the person more vulnerable to various diseases such as obesity, diabetes, depression, heart attack and even cancer. The peculiar thing is that all of these kinds of lives, which have such intense and severe negative effects, are also preventable. In other words, increasing awareness and preventing such childhood experiences can seriously reduce the impact of these experiences on the individual and society.
As a result, can we say that negative childhood experiences do not remain in childhood?
Definitely. In fact, a new study published by researchers from Harvard and Columbia University indicates that the effects of such experiences are transmitted to subsequent generations through genetic mechanisms. In fact, I expected that exposure to negative childhood experiences would negatively affect one’s parenting abilities, and that one would have a relationship with one’s children that was not good enough. But this study showed that intergenerational influence goes far beyond that. The study showed that men who had been sexually or physically abused in childhood had a genetic change in sperm cells. So it shows that the chronic stress caused by such experiences also causes changes in our DNA, and that this change may continue to affect subsequent generations through sex cells.
Thus, the effects of negative childhood experiences may not be limited to the diseases mentioned above. In fact, with both behavioral and genetic changes it causes, its effect can be maintained throughout the generations. Thanks to this study, we can say that childhood negative experiences not only adversely affect the health of the individual and threaten the health of subsequent generations. In fact, problems such as premature birth and low birth weight, which are more common in people with negative childhood experiences mentioned above, may actually be related to these genetic changes.
Does what you are saying mean that everyone who was exposed to such experiences in their childhood will develop these diseases?
However, as the number and frequency of such experiences increases, our risk of contracting one or more of these diseases increases. For example, diabetes is seen in 9 out of every 100 people in the world. However, 14 out of every 100 people in our country have diabetes. In other words, we can say that the prevalence of diabetes in Turkey is almost 2 times higher than the frequency of diabetes in the world. The same goes for those who have had negative childhood experiences. In these people, we can say that this rate is perhaps 24 percent, which corresponds to an increase of almost 3 times. This situation is also for other diseases, if the prevalence of these diseases in the community is around 2 percent, this rate may be 5-6 percent in those with negative childhood experiences. This means that the incidence of these diseases has increased by 2-3 times compared to the normal population. As a result, every negative life does not mean that he will be exposed to this kind of life. However, it is seen that the risk of these diseases is seriously increased in those who are exposed to such experiences.
How can we deal with these negative experiences that can lead to such serious illnesses?
First of all, we all need to recognize that children are the only capital of a nation, and that protecting and developing this capital is the most valuable thing that can be done for a country. Believe me, we cannot change anything without assimilating this. The effects of such experiences and the increasing disease rates, tendency to violence and labor losses bring a great financial burden for society. U.S. records indicate that such experiences cause an annual loss of $124 billion to the state budget, the lowest possible figure. The data indicate that this amount may be around $ 500 billion per year. In other words, such experiences not only darken the life of the person and his family, but also cause a serious loss in society.
The good thing is that such experiences can be prevented with various policies and projects. Yes, all these experiences have a completely preventable nature. Raising awareness of the issue should be the first step. Unfortunately, many people don’t even realize that scolding, mocking, or even beating a child can have serious negative effects. Everyone, everyone should know about the enormous harmful effects of such experiences on children and even society. Everyone should be reached through educational activities such as parent schools, public spots, etc. In addition, it is necessary to take strong and innovative steps such as the development of psychological counseling and guidance services in schools, the integration of these services with social workers and ensuring that they work together, and the early detection of children exposed to such experiences and reaching out to these families.