Examining the Association Between Early Childhood Adversities and Psychological Distress Among Workers Aged 20 to 75 Years Old in Ontario: Findings from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey – Mental Health

Background and objectives: Psychological distress is one of the most common mental health problems at the workplace in Canada. Prevalence estimates of psychological distress at the workplace in Canada varies greatly based on its definition and measurement and also given that psychological distress often times co-occur with other mental health symptoms. A growing body of literature has identified some of the factors associated with psychological distress at the workplace to include: marital and parental status, the quest to balance work with family and childcare, financial situation of the household, low remuneration, job insecurity, poor social support, and poor physical and mental health. However, few studies have examined the role of early childhood adversities on psychological distress among adults at the workplace in Canada. Thus, the objectives of this study are twofold: first, to examine the prevalence of psychological distress among workers aged 20 to 75 years in Canada, and second, to test whether early childhood adversities before age 16 predicts the likelihood of being psychologically distressed later in adulthood?

Methods: This paper is based on data from Statistics Canada’s 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey –Mental Health. A sample of 12,752 respondents aged 20 to 75 years who worked at a job or business within the last 12 months was analyzed. The outcome variable examined in this study was psychological distress and was measured as a binary variable. The main explanatory variable examined in this study was childhood adversities experienced before aged 16 measured based on: exposure to adult violence, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. Binary logistic regression was performed to determine whether there is a significant association between early childhood adversities and psychological distress later in adulthood after adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, pain, chronic conditions, as well as physical and mental health factors.

Results: Of the 12,752 respondents examined in this study, 1,996 representing 15.7% were psychologically distressed. One in two respondents experienced no childhood adversities, 24% experienced one childhood adversity, and 25% experienced two or more childhood adversities before aged 16. Multivariate logistic regression results indicates that controlling for all other factors, for each additional childhood adversities experienced, the odds of being psychologically distressed was predicted to increase by a factor of 23% (OR = 1.23, p < .001, 95% CI = 1.18 – 1.27). Respondents were also more likely to be psychologically distressed if they: were younger, were formerly married or single/never married, perceived their physical health to be poor, had chronic condition, had severe pain enough to prevent them from engaging in most activities, and experienced work stress. Perceived social support was negatively associated with psychological distress.

Conclusions and implications:

Findings of this study suggest a positive association between the number of early childhood adversities and psychological distress later in adulthood among workers. Social workers working with adults with a history of childhood maltreatment should also obtain information about their psychological stress and mental health condition so as to coordinate interventions and services that can help reduce the long-term effects of these events.