CDC: Majority of U.S. adults had troubled childhoods

Almost 60% of American adults say they had difficult childhoods featuring abusive or troubled family members or parents who were absent due to separation or divorce, federal health officials report.

In fact, nearly 9% said that while growing up they underwent five or more “adverse childhood experiences” ranging from verbal, physical or sexual abuse to family dysfunction such as domestic violence, drug or alcohol abuse, or the absence of a parent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Adverse childhood experiences are common,” said study coauthor Valerie J. Edwards, team lead for the Adverse Childhood Experiences Team at CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. “We need to do a lot more to protect children and help families,” she said.

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Posted in * Culture-Watch, Children, Marriage & Family, Psychology

7 comments on “CDC: Majority of U.S. adults had troubled childhoods

  1. Clueless says:

    “While there were few racial or ethnic differences in reports of abuse, the report confirmed that women were more likely than men to have been sexually abused as children. In addition, people 55 and older were less likely to report being abused as a child compared to younger adults. One theory why older people did not report as much childhood abuse is that since these takes a toll on health in adulthood, many of these older abuse victims may have died early, Edwards said. ”
    Gee. Like it couldn’t be the fact that most people age 55 or older grew up in intact families before the sexual revolution and the divorce epidemic, Right? I mean that would be just impossible. Abuse would HAVE to be “normal” throughout the ages, but it “just wasn’t reported” right? Let’s not do anything to shore up marriage. Let’s just hire more social workers and psychologists.

  2. Milton says:

    #1 Amen, Clueless. Just one more instance of unbelievers running up against the fallen human nature and engaging in the futile attempt to correct it by human power alone.

  3. Henry Greville says:

    In all my school and college years I knew only one person whose parents were divorced.

  4. centexn says:

    Divorce is still a dirty word in my book.

  5. Larry Morse says:

    My mother spanked me and mu brother when we were really naughty. Rather more than five times, I tell you. It hadn’t occurred to me that I had been abused and has suffered an adverse childhood experience. If I had known, I would have sued my mother. That would have fixed things, wouldn’t it? What an excellent article, a wikileaks of information of an invaluable sort! Abused in Maine

  6. miserable sinner says:

    Not to disrespect actual victims of childhood abuse or neglect in any way, but, I’ve always found the following cartoon amusing.

    Adult Children of Normal Parents Annual Convention cartoon:
    http://www.amazon.com/Children-Normal-Parents-Jennifer-Berman/dp/0671864890

    Xmas peace, especially to those who holidays aren’t happy and merry,
    -ms

  7. IsraelTravel says:

    This is no surprise as religion and faith is slowly being pushed out not only out of public life such as schools and hospitals and government but also the family home, tv, internet, social life that has not time left for Christ.

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