While the association between abuse in childhood and adverse adult health outcomes is well established, this link is infrequently
acknowledged in the general medical literature. This paper has 2 purposes: (1) to provide a broad overview of the research
on the long-term effects of child abuse on mental and physical health including some of the potential pathways, and (2) to
call for collaborative action among clinicians, psychosocial and biomedical researchers, social service agencies, criminal
justice systems, insurance companies, and public policy makers to take a comprehensive approach to both preventing and dealing
with the sequelae of childhood abuse.
Key words anxiety - depression - hostility - medical diagnoses - childhood abuse - somatic symptoms
This work was supported by National Institute on Aging grants K07 AG0074 and T32 AG000129, the DHHS OWH National Centers of
Excellence in Women’s Health Program, the National Science Foundation grant no. 0123666, the Vilas Estate Trust, and the Jean
Manchester Biddick-Bascom endowed professorship. The authors thank Professor Robert M. Hauser, Principal Investigator of the
Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, for his support and encouragement, and Sarah Bernhardt for her editorial expertise.