A influência das experiências adversas na infância no envelhecimento bem-sucedido

Abstract

Childhood experiences influence the entire course of life, including old age. The aim of this retrospective quantitative correlational research was to investigate whether there are significant associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and aging in older adults. The hypothesis was that this association would be inversely proportional: the greater the exposure to ACEs, the less likely older adults would present indicators of successful aging (SA). Firstly, a scoping literature review was conducted to map the research investigating adverse childhood experiences in older adults. This stage provided a better understanding of the strategies used in this type of retrospective research. Subsequently, the proposed empirical research was carried out. There is no consensus in the literature on what constitutes SA; thus, there is no consensus protocol to assess it. The parameters adopted to evaluate the SA indicators of the sample (N = 356) were a combination of the conceptualization presented in the systematic review conducted by Martin in 2014 and the Two Factor-Model proposed by Pruchno in 2010, which assesses the objective dimension (physical health) and the subjective dimension (social and emotional well-being). From these two references, SA indicators were selected, which were collected using the following protocol: The Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (Lawton IADL Scale); Chronic Illnesses (Eight questions to identify the presence of eight chronic diseases); Self-perception of Aging (Self-assessment of aging with a score from 0-10); Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS); and Social Support Scale (MOS-SSS). To assess adverse childhood experiences, the Adverse Childhood Experiences - International Questionnaire (ACE-QI) will be used, which includes thirteen categories of childhood adversities: emotional neglect, physical neglect, exposure to domestic violence, exposure to substance abuse by family member(s), caregiver's incarceration, caregiver's separation or death, caregiver with mental disorders or suicidal tendencies, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, bullying, community violence, and collective violence. Descriptive analysis of the sociodemographic profile of the sample, description of the data of the dependent variables (SA indicators), and independent variables (ACEs) were performed. Correlation analysis between ACEs and indicators of successful aging was conducted using the Spearman coefficient. The strongest correlation found was between ACEs and depressive symptoms (r = 0.345; p < 0.01), and statistically significant correlations were observed with Self-perception of Aging (r = -0.203; p < 0.01) and Social Support (r = -0.274; p < 0.01).