Childhood Trauma May Shorten Lifespan

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that children who experience six or more traumatic events in their childhood have an average lifespan 19 years shorter than their counterparts who do not suffer that degree of childhood trauma. Among the events considered to be traumatic are emotional, physical or sexual abuse or household dysfunction. "The stressors tend to accumulate in people's lives, and it appears that affects the way they develop and can affect the way they think and their emotional control," said Dr. Robert Anda from CDC's Adverse Childhood Experiences study. Click here for the full article. [ABCNews.go.com]