Patterns and transitions of physical, psychological, and behavioral health across adulthood: A latent transition analysis of the roles of childhood and adulthood adversities

Despite growing recognition of health as a multidimensional construct, few studies have examined how physical, psychological, and behavioral health dimensions coalesce and evolve across the transition from young to middle adulthood, especially within the context of life-course adversities. Existing research often focuses on isolated health indicators or overlooks the dynamic, fluid nature of health over time. Additionally, the combined effects of childhood and adulthood adversities on health transitions remain underexplored. This study addresses these gaps by employing latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify health classes at distinct developmental stages and latent transition analysis (LTM) to examine the stability and predictors influencing transitions between these states. The analysis includes 2798 individuals from four waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. We identified three consistent health profiles-healthy, moderately healthy, and troubled-and tracked how individuals transitioned between these profiles over time. Our findings demonstrate that both childhood and adulthood adversities, including emotional abuse, community violence, and homelessness, significantly influence health deterioration and limit recovery. Notably, our moderation analysis revealed that men were less likely than women to transition out of poor health following childhood adversities, underscoring the need for gender-sensitive interventions. This study contributes to a more dynamic, life-course-informed understanding of health and emphasizes the importance of trauma-informed, gender-responsive interventions. By addressing the interplay of multiple health dimensions and adversities, this research provides critical insights for developing targeted policies and interventions aimed at improving long-term health outcomes and promoting health equity across the lifespan.