Profiles of Childhood Abuse and Biopsychosocial Outcomes in Young Adulthood: A Nationally Representative Sample Analysis

The study explored the profiles of childhood abuse and biopsychosocial outcomes in young adulthood, along with early predictive factors. Data were drawn from Wave I (ages 11-21 years) and IV (ages 24-33 years) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health dataset (N = 5112). Latent profile analysis (LPA) was employed to identify distinct patterns of childhood abuse and biopsychosocial outcomes (cardiometabolic risk, depressive symptoms, and socioeconomic functioning) in young adulthood. Multinomial logistic regression was subsequently utilized to examine the predictive roles of early demographic factors, lifestyle behaviors, and parent-child relationships in adolescence. LPA identified five distinct profiles: low risk-adaptive, medium risk-resilient, medium risk-maladaptive, high risk-resilient, and high risk-maladaptive profiles. Multinomial logistic regression revealed that gender as female and having a low family income distinguished medium risk-maladaptive and high risk-maladaptive profiles from the high risk-resilient profile. Reduced sedentary behavior, along with maternal closeness and warmth, emerged as significant protective factors for resilient development. These findings reveal the diverse biopsychosocial outcomes associated with childhood abuse of varying severities. We also emphasize the critical need for tailored interventions that reduce sedentary time and enhance parent-child emotional closeness from different social backgrounds to foster resilience in the face of childhood adversity.