Associations Between Early Life Stress, Health Behaviors, and Risk-Taking in Adulthood: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Abstract Across various scientific fields, early life stress (ELS) has been associated with more detrimental health behavior, higher risk-taking as well as accelerated socio-sexual behaviors, and higher reproductive effort. Previous research has identified resource scarcity, unpredictability, harshness, neighborhood hazards, parental investment, and exposure to violence and aggression as crucial factors of ELS. This study used an online survey to collect responses from 371 adult US residents via MTurk (160 females, 210 males, one other gender; M age=29.98). Retrospective and current self-report measures were used to build a structural equation model of early childhood environment, socio-sexual behavior, reproductive effort, and adult health- and risk-related behaviors. A second-order factor of ELS predicted lower behavioral investment in health and safety ( β =-0.30, p <0.001), indicated by less preventative and more detrimental health behavior as well as higher risk-taking propensity. The model showed that these adult behavioral tendencies constitute a coordinated behavioral strategy that prioritizes short-term opportunities and rewards over investments in future health, well-being, and safety. Model fit was excellent (RMSEA=0.054 [90% CI=0.048; 0.059]; CFI=0.966; TLI=0.957). Results partly corroborate theory and part of the previous empirical evidence but also suggest that factors of ELS are highly interrelated. No reliable associations emerged between ELS and socio-sexual behaviors, reproductive effort, or between these outcomes and adult behavioral tendencies. The study’s insights have implications for the design of intervention and prevention programs, which could benefit from focusing on changing ultimate behavioral strategies that jeopardize future health and well-being, rather than individual health and risk-taking behaviors.