Purpose: Exposure to adversity during childhood and adolescence is associated with numerous health conditions in adulthood; telomere shortening may be a mechanism through which adversity contributes to poor outcomes. We studied three areas of adversity (parent relational instability, child household instability, and financial instability) occurring during three epochs across childhood and adolescence and their associations with telomere length during adolescence. Methods: Data were obtained from the first wave of a longitudinal cohort study of youth aged 11–17 and their primary caregiver. Caregivers completed demographic and adversity questionnaires; youth provided a saliva sample for DNA extraction for telomere analysis. Results: Of 879 youth, over half experienced some adversity. More than one third experienced parent relational instability in each age epoch, with nearly a quarter experiencing parent relational instability in all age epochs. Youth experienced a similar pattern of financial instability but lower rates of child household instability. Youth experiencing parent relational instability at two or three epochs had shorter telomeres compared to those without any parent relational instability ( p &lt; .004). Youth who experienced child household instability in two age epochs had shorter telomeres ( p = .003) and youth who experienced financial instability across all three epochs had shorter telomeres ( p = .013) compared to youth without these adversities. Conclusion: Continuing exposure to adversity in early childhood may be more likely to affect telomere length. Research is needed to further determine adversities exerting the most effect and to understand if early telomere shortening has long term health effects.

Rita H. Pickler

Jodi L. Ford

Alai Tan

Christopher Browning

Jake Tarrence

Darlene A. Kertes

Biological Research For Nursing

护理生物研究 (BRN) 是一份经过同行评审的季刊，可帮助护士研究人员、教育工作者和从业人员整合来自许多基础学科的信息；生物学、生理学、化学、卫生政策、商业、工程、教育、传播和社会科学进入护理研究、理论和临床实践。该期刊是出版伦理委员会 (COPE) 的成员

Biological Research for Nursing is a peer-reviewed quarterly journal designed to assist nurse researchers, educators, and practitioners in integrating information from various foundational disciplines, including biology, physiology, chemistry, health policy, business, engineering, education, communication, and social sciences, into nursing research, theory, and clinical practice. The journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

《Biological Research for Nursing》是一本经过同行评审的季刊，旨在帮助护士研究人员、教育工作者和从业人员整合来自多个基础学科的信息，包括生物学、生理学、化学、卫生政策、商业、工程、教育、传播和社会科学，以促进护理研究、理论和临床实践的发展。该期刊是出版伦理委员会（COPE）的成员。

Category	Quartile
医学	4
医学, 护理	4

Childhood Adversity and Telomere Length

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