Childhood sexual abuse can lead to depression, anxiety, cardiovascular disease and other health problems later in life. However, not all abused children experience these problems, and researchers are working to understand whose health is affected and why. In a new article, published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, a team of researchers led by faculty in Penn State's College of Health and Human Development examined how the production of the stress hormone cortisol differs from childhood to middle age for some women who experienced childhood sexual abuse.

"Previous research has shown that childhood sexual abuse is related to a lot of health issues that are sustained into adulthood," said John Felt, postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Healthy Aging. "But we still need to understand how early-life adversity does or does not become embedded in people's lives. When we understand this, we will be able to do more to promote health among people who have experienced abuse."