FOCUS – WHO: More than two thirds of young people in Europe have experienced trauma in childhood

GENEVA, 8 October /ATSH-ANSA/ – More than two in three young adults in Europe have experienced at least one adverse experience during childhood, such as abuse, violence in the family, neglect, separation from a parent, or living with family members who have mental health or substance addiction problems.

The data come from a study by the World Health Organization’s European Office, which covered around 26,000 young people aged 18 to 30 in 29 European countries, among them Italy.

According to the study, 22.2% of respondents have experienced one adverse experience during childhood, 23.9% have experienced two or three, while 22.8% have experienced four or more.

“When a child grows up in a violent environment or in a family in crisis, we should not be surprised that these experiences accompany them at school, in the world of work and in relationships with others even many years later,” declared Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat, director of the Division of Health Systems at WHO Europe.

Separation or death of a parent, the most common experience

According to the data, the most common traumatic experience during childhood is the separation or death of a parent, reported by 39.2% of participants.

In second place is experiencing episodes of violence in the family, with 35.2%, while 29.1% said they had experienced sexual abuse.

Then follow:

– 25.5% have experienced mental health problems within the family;
– 22.1% have lived in a family where there were problems with substance abuse;
– 21.4% have experienced emotional abuse;
– 13.2% have experienced neglect;
– 12% have experienced physical abuse.

The consequences can last into adulthood

The study shows that adverse childhood experiences can leave important consequences even many years later.

Among people who have experienced four or more such experiences, 76.3% thought that during the last year they had needed support because of mental health suffering.

Among those who had reported no adverse experience during childhood, this percentage was 36.7%.

Young people who report four or more such experiences also have a six times higher probability of experiencing violence and a ten times higher probability of exercising violence themselves at a young age.