Childhood trauma: WHO raises the alarm – it affects two in three young people and takes its toll on health and the economy
In Europe, more than two in three young people have experienced at least one adverse event during their childhood. The alarm has been raised by the report ‘Adverse childhood experiences in the European Union, Iceland and Norway: characteristics, consequences and costs’
Key points
The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Regional Office for Europe has carried out a study – in collaboration with Liverpool John Moores University – on the phenomenon of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). And the worrying figure concerns the proportion of those who have experienced at least one such event: 68.9 per cent – more than two-thirds of the young people surveyed.
But what is an adverse childhood experience? The term encompasses cases of abuse, neglect and family or community dysfunction experienced between the ages of 0 and 17. These experiences are a key determinant of an individual’s physical and mental health, and also have socio-economic repercussions.
The methodology
The survey, carried out between November 2025 and January 2026, involved a sample of nearly 27,000 young adults aged between 18 and 30, residing in the Member States of the European Union, Iceland and Norway. Nine types of ACE were analysed: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, mental health problems in the family, substance use, parental imprisonment, parental separation or death, and witnessing domestic violence.
The results
Of the 68.9 per cent – representing respondents who had experienced at least one adverse childhood experience – almost 30 per cent reported four or more ACEs. Of these, nearly 8 in 10 said they had needed professional mental health support in the previous year. Not only that: this same group was six times more likely to experience violence and ten times more likely to perpetrate it as young adults. Exposure to four or more ACEs also results in the loss of around 84 healthy life days per year – totalling nearly two years lost between the ages of 18 and 30 – with an estimated economic impact of just under 76,000 euros per person over the same period.
Greater exposure to ACE was also found to be associated with lower levels of education, a higher risk of exclusion from education, employment or training (NEET), a lower household income, less trust in others and a weaker sense of belonging to the community.
