Ageing in the aftermath of adversity: Long-term effects in Swiss survivors of early-life stress and the intergenerational transmission of vulnerability and resilience

Background:
Individuals affected by compulsory social measures and out-of-home placements show elevated rates of childhood abuse and neglect. Such early-life adversity is among the most robust risk factors for mental and physical illness, with effects that persist across the lifespan into older adulthood. Trauma can also be transmitted across generations: children’s development is profoundly shaped by their environment, including the trauma histories and coping responses of their caregivers. However, the long-term consequences of early-life adversity in later life and for subsequent generations remain insufficiently explored.

To address this gap, the 4-year project “Ageing in the Aftermath of Adversity” examines how mental and physical health, well-being, relationships, pain, and stress change over time in older adults affected by early-life adversity. The project investigates how participants experienced and processed abuse and maltreatment across different contexts, including foster families, residential care institutions, religious institutions, and families of origin. The overarching aim is to understand how early-life stress and trauma shape health and ageing outcomes, as well as the intergenerational transmission of trauma (vulnerability versus resilience). This will be achieved by working with survivors of childhood trauma and adversity, as well as their second-generation descendants, in German-speaking Switzerland.

Method:
This project applies a multiphase, mixed-methods design and is organised into three Work Packages: 

• Work Package 1 examines long-term health and ageing trajectories through a longitudinal quantitative cohort study. 

• Work Package 2 explores the lived experiences and long-term health impacts of early-life stress and trauma through three qualitative studies, each focused on a distinct context: Swiss compulsory social measures and placements, faith-based institutions, and families of origin. 

• Work Package 3 investigates the intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience from a biopsychosocial perspective, combining quantitative measures, biomarker assessments, and qualitative interviews with second-generation descendants of survivors.