Prevalence of Childhood Adversity and Its Association with Depression, Anxiety, and Psychotic-like Experiences Among Young Indian Adults: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Childhood adversity is very common and strongly linked to poor mental health; globally, 60% of adults report at least one adverse childhood experience. Though evidence in India is limited, multisite data suggest that one in two young adults reports child maltreatment and family-level adversities. This study estimated the prevalence of childhood adversity and examined its association with depression, anxiety, and psychotic-like experiences among young adults in Chennai, India. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1,000 college students aged 18–24 years from four colleges in Chennai, India. Childhood adversity was assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Depression, anxiety, and psychotic-like experiences were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences-15. Correlation and multivariable analyses were performed after adjusting for age and gender. Results: Overall, 90.1% reported at least one form of childhood adversity. Physical abuse and emotional neglect were the most common subtypes. Higher childhood trauma scores were significantly associated with higher depression, anxiety, and psychotic-like experience scores. Emotional abuse showed an independent association with depression and anxiety, while physical neglect was significantly associated with psychotic-like experiences. Conclusions: Childhood adversity is highly prevalent among young adults in this urban Indian setting and strongly associated with multiple forms of psychopathology. Emotional abuse and physical neglect show subtype-specific mental health effects. These findings underscore the importance of early identification and integration of trauma-informed interventions focused on youth mental health to reduce long-term mental health problems.