Childhood trauma and everyday discrimination: Associations with psychological and physiological health

Childhood trauma and discrimination are two experiences that are of particular importance in the development of psychological and physiological problems. The current study aims to 1) identify patterns of childhood trauma and everyday discrimination and 2) explore predictors of class membership and how classes relate to alcohol use, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), insomnia, and pain. Data for the present study come from the 24-month follow-up (N = 937) of a longitudinal study of veteran behavioral health. Latent class analysis extracted classes of childhood trauma and discrimination, and latent class regression identified whether sex, race, and ethnicity were related to class membership. Mean differences in psychological and physiological health outcomes were assessed across emergent classes. A five-class model best fits the data. Veterans who identified as racial or ethnic minority were more likely to be in the three classes with high childhood trauma, high discrimination, or both (odds ratios: 8.38–35.3). Veterans with both high childhood trauma and discrimination reported the highest symptoms of PTSD, alcohol use, and pain. Our results underscore those veterans with more exposure to adverse and traumatic events, including childhood trauma and everyday discrimination, are at greater risk for health concerns.