Understanding how adverse childhood experiences impact anxiety-related disorders in the UK and Brazil

Adverse childhood experiences are potentially harmful experiences that can affect people both at home and outside of it. They include family violence, parental mental health problems, bullying and community violence. Over 60 per cent of people are estimated to have been exposed to one or more adverse childhood experiences.

People who develop anxiety-related disorders often experience feelings of unease such as worry or fear. Anxiety-related disorders often begin early in life. They are a common mental health problem with around 4 per cent of the global population currently experiencing an anxiety-related disorder.

Existing research shows us that adverse childhood experiences can increase the risk of someone developing an anxiety-related disorder. However, we don’t yet fully understand the mechanisms through which one affects the other.

Exploring this connection is important because it will let us identify and prioritise what we can do to improve outcomes for people affected by adverse childhood experiences who are at risk of developing anxiety-related disorders.

Project aims

During this project we will explore potential links between adverse childhood experiences and anxiety-related disorders. We will also attempt to address the lack of research performed outside of high-income countries.

To do this we will analyse multiple cohorts from the UK and Brazil. The culture and social support structures in the UK and Brazil are very different, with levels of poverty, family and community violence all considerably higher in Brazil.

We have co-designed and will co-produce our research with UK-based young people with lived experience of anxiety. Involving people with lived experience in research isn’t common practice in Brazil. We will pilot and evaluate lived experience involvement work in Brazil, strengthening our project whilst also generating lessons for the wider community.

What we hope to achieve

We hope our work will address both the gap in what we know about the impact of adverse childhood experiences on anxiety-related disorders and increase our understanding of these issues in low and middle-income countries.