Miller, Jacob; Cheung, Aaron; Novilla, Kirsten; Crandall, Aliceann (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Crandall, Aliceann (Life Sciences, Public Health)
Existing literature demonstrates a strong relationship between childhood experiences and adult health outcomes. The Differential Susceptibility to Environment Theory suggests that there are several factors, including personality and physiology, that effect a child's sensitivity to adverse and advantageous experiences. A sample of 246 adults (ages 19-57) were asked questions about extroverted personality characteristics, adverse and advantageous childhood experiences, and several measures of adult health, including executive functioning, perceived stress levels, depression, and past smoking habits. The sample was then stratified based on level of extroversion scores with the top quartile being labeled as "extroverts", the bottom quartile as "introverts", and those in between as "ambiverts". Regression analyses were then used to assess the relationship between childhood experiences and each adult health outcome. The results of the study showed that the extroverted individuals experienced more positive health outcomes after more advantageous childhood experiences, as well as decreases in adult health outcomes after more adverse childhood experiences. These results suggest that extroverts more than introverts are more sensitivity to environmental influences in childhood. More research is needed to understand the neurobiological mechanisms that increase environmental sensitivity among extroverts.