I was recently reading through The 2024 Gallup Global Emotions report. I was really interested to see how different the findings were in comparison to the World Happiness Report findings.
In the World Happiness report, the top ten countries in terms of life satisfaction are:
Finland
Denmark
Iceland
Sweden
Israel
Netherlands
Norway
Luxembourg
Switzerland
Australia
For the Gallup Global Emotions report, the top ten countries in terms of positive experiences from the day before in 2023 looked very different:
Paraguay = 86
Panama = 86
Guatemala = 85
Mexico = 84
Indonesia = 84
El Salvador = 83
Costa Rica = 83
Malaysia = 82
Senegal = 82
Philippines = 82
In fact, there is no overlap at all between the two top ten lists. The World Happiness report top ten is dominated by Nordic and European countries. Israel and Australia are the only exceptions. The Gallup Global positive experiences top ten is instead made up of countries from Central and South America and Asia. Senegal is the only exception.
So what is going on here, and why is there such a big difference with no overlap in either top ten list?
I think it because they are measuring different things. Previously, I have written an article about our two selves. The first is the experiential self, or how much we are enjoying things in the moment. The second is the narrative self, or how we are feeling about our life in general.
The Cantril Ladder question that determines the World Happiness rankings asks more about people’s narrative self. It questions people’s life satisfaction in general on a scale from 0 to 10. A score of 0 is the worst life they can imagine. Meanwhile, 10 signifies the best life.
The Gallup Positive Experiences instead asks about people’s experiential self. It asks how well-rested someone felt yesterday. It also asks if they were treated with respect all day. Furthermore, it inquires if they smiled or laughed a lot. It then asks if they did something interesting or learned something, and if they felt enjoyment.
In determining where it would be better to live, you may need to consider your priorities. Ask yourself which self is more important to you. Would you rather feel more satisfied with your life in general. Or would you rather experience more positive things from day to day?
Maybe both things are important to you. However, it could be tough to find a country excelling in looking after both our narrative and experiential self. I think I might actually prefer to live in a country with more positive experiences. What about you?
Below are the findings from the seventh wave of the World Values Survey. My dad is from the US, and my mum is Australian, so I was curious to see how much I have been influenced by what people value in these countries:
Neither Australia nor the USA is the most traditional or secular of all the countries surveyed. The USA is about as close to the middle as possible, showing a slight preference for Secular Values over Traditional Values (about 0.10 standard deviations above the average). Australia is more secular than both the USA and the world average.
Neither are Australia nor the USA the highest in terms of Self-Expression or Survival Values. The USA is just under 1.5 standard deviations higher than the world average regarding Self-Expression Values. Australia also prefers Self-Expression over Survival Values and is about 2.35 standard deviations above the average, putting them in the top 2.5% of all countries endorsing these values.
Traditional vs. Secular Values
For the Y-axis, more traditional countries value the importance of family, religion and deferring to and being respectful of authority. Therefore, they tend to be more hostile toward divorce, abortion, and euthanasia. Countries that are more secular place less emphasis on traditional family values, religion and authority. Divorce, abortion, and euthanasia are more acceptable than in countries with traditional values.
Australia is approximately 0.55 on the Y-axis. It means that it is half a standard deviation more secular than traditional. Australia is more secular than the UK and many countries in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Qatar has the most traditional values, but Ghana, Tanzania, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Trinidad and many others are too.
Australia is more traditional than all Scandinavian countries, some Catholic European countries (especially the Czech Republic), and nearly all Confucian countries. Interestingly, Japan and South Korea are two of the highest-ranked countries globally regarding Secular Values and are less traditional than any country in Europe. I was surprised by this finding, as my Sociology lecturers at university often used Asian countries (including Japan) as exemplars of collectivist cultures. People in collectivist cultures put the goals and needs of the group, including what the authorities and their families say, over their individual needs and desires. Yet, their traditional — secular continuum findings do not indicate that for Confucian countries.
Survival vs. Self-Expression Values
Findings on the X-axis are also significant. For example, countries that endorse Survival Values prioritise physical and economic security over self-expression. As a result, they are less trusting and tolerant of outsiders or people who don’t fit in with what the average person does.
Countries that endorse Self-Expression Values, on the other hand, prioritise environmental protection and want more extensive participation in political and economic life decision-making. They also exhibit greater acceptance of differences and equality for anyone previously discriminated against, whether based on country of origin, sexuality or gender.
People from South Korea endorse Survival Values more than Self-Expression Values (approximately -0.50). Australia’s preference for Self-Expression Values (about 2.35) compared to Asian countries might also help explain why Asian countries were referred to in my Sociology lectures as examples of collectivist cultures. However, other countries, especially Egypt and Zimbabwe in Africa, endorse Security Values more than all Asian countries. Both Vietnam and Japan also show a decent preference for Self-Expression over Security Values. Perhaps my university Sociology professors were influenced by inaccurate stereotypes or did not use the best examples.
Based on their answers to the World Values Survey and their positions on the above map, the average Australian is more likely to be happy, accept homosexuality, sign a petition and trust others than the average Japanese person or individual from the USA. Furthermore, the average American or Japanese person is more likely to endorse these four characteristics than the average Egyptian. However, the average individual from nearly every country is less likely to support Self-Expression Values than the average Swede or Norwegian. These Scandinavian countries are the top two globally, just ahead of Iceland, Denmark and New Zealand.
Which Areas of Life are Most Important?
As a dual citizen of Australia and the USA, I will include each country’s results on the following questions to the countries that most and least endorsed each item as very important. Here are six areas of life that the World Values Survey asks people about in terms of how important they are to them:
1. How important is your family in your life?
The country with the highest percentage of people who endorse family as very important: Egypt = 99.7%
USA = 91.0%
Australia = 90.2%
The country with the lowest percentage of respondents who endorse family as very important: Nicaragua = 77.8%
2. How important are friends in your life?
The country with the highest percentage of people who endorse friends as very important: Serbia = 62.6%
Australia = 52.4%
USA = 50.7%
The country with the lowest percentage of respondents who endorse friends as very important: Myanmar = 11.8%
3. How important is leisure time in your life?
The country with the highest percentage of people who endorse leisure time as very important: Nigeria = 67.5%
Australia = 42.8%
USA = 39.5%
The country with the lowest percentage of respondents who endorse leisure time as very important: Vietnam = 12.8%
4. How important is politics in your life?
The country with the highest percentage of people who endorse politics as very important: Nigeria = 34.8%
USA = 14.9%
Australia = 10.3%
The country with the lowest percentage of respondents who endorse politics as very important: Serbia = 4.4%
5. How important is work in your life?
The country with the highest percentage of people who endorse work as very important: Indonesia = 92.9%
USA = 39.4%
Australia = 33.1%
The country with the lowest percentage of respondents who endorse work as very important: New Zealand = 29.1%
6. How important is religion in your life?
The country with the highest percentage of people who endorse religion as very important: Indonesia = 98.1%
USA = 37.1%
Australia = 13.8%
The country with the lowest percentage of respondents who endorse religion as very important: China = 3.3%
Neither Australia nor the USA is the highest or lowest country regarding endorsing any of the six categories as very important in their life. It’s nice to see that family, friends and leisure time are all considered more important in life in the USA and Australia than work, religion and politics. However, I wonder if everyone lives in line with what values they say are most important to them.
“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” — Isaac Asimov
The Longevity Project
Over 1,500 of the most promising and brightest boys and girls were recruited in 1921 by Lewis Terman. Unfortunately, he died in 1956, but the study continued for decades afterwards. All participants were born around 1910 and studied for 80 years or until they died. It was then possible to figure out who lived the longest and why.
Although each child was potentially gifted, not all lived long and happy lives. Fortunately, analysis of this extensive data has taken place for over twenty years at The University of California in Riverside.
The study’s significant findings are summarised in the 2011 book “The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long-Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study” by Howard Friedman and Leslie Martin. I listened to this audiobook recently and was quite surprised with some of its key results:
1. Living honestly is essential.
“A key part of one of the healthy paths is called ‘The High Road.’ Such an individual has good friends, meaningful work and a happy, responsible marriage. The thoughtful planning and perseverance that such people invest in their careers and relationships promote long life naturally and automatically, even when challenges arise.”
2. Please do NOT send your children to school earlier than their peers.
“Starting formal schooling at a very early age was not a great idea for most. Children need unstructured playtime, and they need to get along with their peers; starting young seemed to alienate them.”
3. Illness is NOT random.
“Those that live longer are often healthier throughout their years and (managed to) avoid serious ailments altogether.”
“Those who are healthier tend to be happier, and those who are happier tend to be healthier.”
“It’s never too late to choose a healthier path. The first step is to throw away the lists and stop worrying about worrying.”
“Thinking of making changes as taking ‘steps’ is a grand strategy. You can’t change major things about yourself overnight. But making small changes, and repeating those steps, can eventually create that path to a longer life.”
4. Good marriages lead to better health, especially for men.
“Marriage is only health-promoting for men who are well-suited to marriage and have a good marriage. For others, it is more complicated.”
“Women who stayed single, were widowed or got divorced often thrived more than women who were married to troublesome husbands.”
“Men who stayed divorced were at high risk for premature mortality.”
5. Divorce during childhood predicts early death in adulthood.
“The strongest social predictor is parental divorce, as it often pushes the child into many unhealthy directions, including heavier drinking and smoking, less education, lower career achievements and a greater risk of later divorce themselves.”
6. Follow the long-term recommendations that are right for you.
“The long-lived did not find the secret to health in broccoli, medical tests, vitamins or jogging. Rather they were individuals with certain constellations of habits and patterns of living. Their personalities, career trajectories and social lives proved highly relevant to their long-term health, often in ways we did not expect.”
“You need to make changes that will be sustainable in the long term. We say, if you don’t like jogging, don’t jog! Instead, begin doing things that you enjoy and can keep up, like a walk at lunchtime with a friend or vigorous gardening.”
“The usual piecemeal suggestions of relax, eat vegetables, lose weight and get married are lifesaving for some, but neither effective nor economical for many.”
“Some of the minutiae of what people think will help us lead long, healthy lives, such as worrying about the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in the foods we eat, actually are red herrings, distracting us from the major pathways. When we recognise our long-term healthy and unhealthy patterns, we can begin to maximise the healthy patterns.”
7. Conscientiousness is the most critical personality factor for longevity.
“Conscientiousness is very important. Unconscientious boys, even bright ones, are more likely to grow up to have poor marriages, smoke more, drink more, achieve less education, be relatively unsuccessful at work, and die younger.”
“Conscientious people stay healthier and live longer for three reasons:
First, they do more things to protect their health.
Secondly, they are biologically predisposed to be healthier, and
Lastly, they end up in more beneficial situations and relationships.”
8. Working hard can be helpful for you.
“Those who worked the hardest often lived the longest…especially if they were involved in meaningful careers and were dedicated to things and people beyond themselves.”
“It was clear that working hard to overcome adversity or biting off more than you can chew — and then chewing it — does not generally pose a health risk. Striving to accomplish your goals, setting new aims when milestones are reached, and staying engaged and productive is what those heading to a long life tend to do. The long-lived didn’t shy away from hard work; the opposite seemed true.”
9. Resilience is protective for health.
“Depending on the circumstances, a traumatic event such as parental divorce could contribute to a longer life if the child learned to be resilient.”
“Resilience is important, and can be achieved via a sense of personal accomplishment, the strength of character and maturity.”
“Combat veterans are less likely to live long lives, but surprisingly the psychological stress of war itself is not necessarily a major health threat. Rather, it is a cascade of unhealthy patterns that sometimes follows. Those who find meaning in a traumatic experience and can reestablish a sense of security about the world usually return to a healthy pathway.”
10. Human connection is essential.
“Having pets can improve well-being, but they do not help people live longer and are not a substitute for friends.”
“People who feel loved and cared for report a better sense of well-being.”
“The clearest health benefit of social relationships comes from being involved with and helping others.”
“It is important to be well-integrated into your community.”
“Connecting with and helping others is more important than obsessing over a rigorous exercise program.”
“The groups you associate with often determine the type of person you become — healthy or unhealthy.”
The Harvard Study of Adult Development began in 1938. It is sometimes also called ‘The Grant Study’.
This longitudinal prospective study aimed to identify predictors of healthy ageing in real-time.
For 79 years, it has examined the lives of 268 physically and mentally healthy Harvard college sophomores from 1939–1944 until their death, including eventual US President John F. Kennedy. It has also incorporated many of their offspring and 456 disadvantaged inner-city youths who grew up in Boston between 1940 to 1945.
Earlier this year, I listened to the 2012 audiobook by George Vaillant, titled “Triumphs of Experience.” He was the previous director of the study.
The primary research findings include:
1. “Alcoholism is a disorder of great destructive power.”
Alcoholism precedes marital difficulties and is the leading cause of divorce, with 57% of divorces traced to alcoholism.
Alcoholism can also lead to the later development of depression and neurosis.
Alcoholism is the most significant predictor of early death alongside cigarette smoking.
2. “Above a certain level, intelligence doesn’t matter.”
There is no significant difference in income earned by men with an IQ of 110–115 compared to men with an IQ higher than 150.
3. “Ageing liberals have more sex.”
While political ideology has no significant impact on life satisfaction overall, most liberal men continue to have an active sex life into their 80s. In contrast, conservative men are likelier to cease having sex by 68.
4. “For good or ill, the effects of childhood last.”
A warm childhood relationship with the mother predicts greater financial earnings later in life ($87,000 more than males who had uncaring mothers), greater effectiveness at work later in life, and a three times lower risk of dementia in old age.
A warm childhood relationship with the father predicts lower rates of anxiety and pessimism during adulthood, increased life satisfaction later in life, reduced difficulties in letting others get close and greater enjoyment of vacations throughout life.
5. “It is not one thing for good or ill — social advantage, abusive parents, physical weakness — that determines how children adapt to life, but the quality of their total experience.”
It means that what goes right during childhood matters much more than what goes wrong.
If bad things happen, as long as they are outweighed by the good, you are likely to still turn out okay.
“Bleak childhoods were not always associated with bleak marriages.”
“Restorative marriages and maturing [psychological] defences” are “the soil out of which resilience and post-traumatic growth emerge.”
6. “People really can change, and people really can grow. So childhood need be neither destiny nor doom.”
7. “Even the death of a parent was relatively unimportant by the time the men were fifty. By age eighty, men who had lost parents when young were as mentally and physically healthy as men whose parents had lovingly watched them graduate from high school.”
8. “Prudence, forethought, willpower, and perseverance in junior high school were the best predictors of vocational success at age fifty.”
9. “All fifty-five Best Outcomes had gotten married relatively early and stayed married for most of their adult lives. Proportionately three times as many of the Best Adjusted men enjoyed lifelong happy marriages as the Worst.”
The effect of marriage was even starker for the inner-city men of the Glueck Study: “two-thirds of the never-married were in the bottom fifth in overall social relations, 57% were in the bottom fifth in income, and the study raters classified 71% as mentally ill.”
“It turned out that happy marriages after eighty were not associated either with warm childhoods or mature defences in early adulthood — that is, you don’t have to start ‘all grown up’ to end up solidly married.”
10. “It was the capacity for intimate relationships that predicted flourishing in all aspects of these men’s lives.” In other words, “Happiness is love. Full stop.”
Spouses’ mutual dependence on each other was associated with happy and healthy marriages. For example, 76% of the men still alive at age eighty-five said their marriages were happy.
“Most of the men who flourished found love before thirty, and that was why they flourished.”
See the latest director of the study Robert Waldinger talk about the key findings from the Harvard Study of Adult Development for more information. His TED talk has millions of views:
I hope you find these highly significant findings as fascinating as I do.
They also give us scientifically supported indicators of what to do if you want to live a happy, healthy, and long life.
The latest Happy Planet Index puts Vanuatu second in the world in terms of sustainable well-being. To determine a country’s score on the Happy Planet Index, they look at a country’s well-being, multiplied by their life expectancy and then divided by their ecological footprint.
The only country with a better Happy Planet Index score is Costa Rica, with 62.1. Vanuatu is second with a score of 60.4, followed by Colombia (60.2), Switzerland (60.1) and Ecuador (58.8).
Although the Happy Planet Index helps to highlight the importance of living sustainably and trying to slow down climate change,is the sustainable happiness score the same as people’s overall satisfaction with their lives?
Not really. The well-being indicator is probably more indicative. To assess well-being, people in each country are asked to rate the quality of their lives overall on a scale from 0 (horrible) to 10 (the best life you could ever imagine).
The majority of the well-being data is taken from the Gallup World Poll, but Vanuatu is not usually included in this Poll. Therefore, the Happy Planet Index gives us an excellent chance to compare Vanuatu to the rest of the world regarding how satisfied their residents are with their lives compared to residents of other countries.
Here are the top 20 countries:
Finland = 7.84 (out of 10)
Denmark = 7.62
Switzerland = 7.57
Iceland = 7.55
Netherlands = 7.46
Norway = 7.39
Sweden = 7.36
Luxembourg = 7.32
New Zealand = 7.28
Austria = 7.27
Australia = 7.18
Israel = 7.16
Germany = 7.16
Canada = 7.10
Ireland = 7.09
Costa Rica = 7.07
United Kingdom = 7.06
Czech Republic = 6.97
Vanuatu = 6.96
United States = 6.95
Vanuatu isn’t the happiest country on the planet, but the residents of Vanuatu are, on average, quite satisfied with their lives. However, the loss of tourism with the COVID-19 pandemic and the international border closures have made it financially challenging for many people. The capital city of Port Vila can also be quite expensive to live in.
Many young people are also travelling to Australia and New Zealand to work on farms and make as much money as possible. This leads to better financial opportunities for them, their families and communities. However, it also puts pressure on their partners, families and communities left behind while the young people work overseas for months and sometimes years.
The big positives in Vanuatu seem to be the connection that people have to their country, island, land and community. There are close-knit kinship and family ties and minimal large-scale conflict and political unrest.
Vanuatu is also a beautiful country with an exceptional natural environment and many people that want to preserve these resources as much as possible. For example, Vanuatu was one of the first countries to ban plastic drinking straws and plastic bags.
Work is also not an overly important aspect of many people’s lives. Following a death, people grieve with their family and friends and don’t rush back into their daily activities. Vanuatu also allows for up to 21 sick days per year, more public holidays than pretty much any country in the world, and 21 annual leave days a year too.
Based on the 2021 World Happiness Report, Finland once again wins the happiest country on the planet. Vanuatu is not the happiest country globally, but it is in the top 20 in the world. It is also a more joyful place than the USA, France, and many other countries around the globe.
By looking at surveys such as the Happy Planet Index or the World Values Survey, it is possible to see which places may be the best fit for you. If you really care about the environment and climate change, Costa Rica and Vanuatu will be right up there for you.
An excellent work-life balance, close connections with the important people in my life, not too much stress, lots of relaxation, beautiful natural resources and a population that feels like they are living a pretty good life are essential to me.
Initially, the pandemic had a significant and negative impact on our mental health. Here is some data that looked at self-reported levels of distress, anxiety, and depression across the USA in 2020:
As you can see, anxiety, depression and distress all spiked in March and April but remained relatively consistent from June 2020 to January 2021.
By September 2020, the average mental health of all people in the UK was still 2.2% worse than was predicted if there had been no pandemic. However, it wasn’t anything like the initial rate of people’s mental health being 7.9% worse at the start of the pandemic.
The pandemic has not impacted everyone’s mental health in the same way. If we look at the data of people surveyed in the UK in both April and September 2020, more than one in five people had their mental health significantly impacted at both time points. However, both women and younger people were affected more by COVID-19 than older men:
There is also some evidence that suggests that ethnic minorities and those with pre-existing mental health conditions were impacted more severely by the pandemic. Unfortunately, these impacts only further exaggerate many of the already existing mental health inequalities.
Lockdowns didn’t seem to worsen people’s mental health as severely as people imagined. Similar to what Daniel Gilbert said in his surprising book, ‘Stumbling on Happiness’, we can adjust more to whatever happens to us the longer it goes on. If something positive happens to us, we imagine that we will feel way better for way longer. But eventually, we get used to it, and our happiness levels return close to what they initially were. On the other hand, if something terrible happens to us, we imagine it will impact our mental health way worse and for way longer than it typically does. By June 2020, many people had already found their new equilibrium.
By comparing internet searches before and during lockdowns, Google searches increased the most substantially for boredom. Statistically significant increases also occurred for loneliness, worry and sadness. Other studies had also found increased searches for psychological stress, fear and death before lockdowns started. These searches then stabilised at the start of the lockdowns before reducing as the lockdowns continued.
Another finding that may surprise many people is that searches fell for divorce and suicide once countries imposed lockdowns.
I’m not sure if this is true, but I have heard that suicide rates also decrease during wars. So even though many people feared that lockdowns would increase suicidal ideation, I think that sometimes wars and pandemics give us a reason to feel sad. stressed or worried. Understanding why people feel the way they do and why they have to do what they are doing gives them insight and meaning and hope that things will get better in the future. Which can reduce the risk that someone will want to die by suicide instead of increasing it.
Possible future mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic
Although most countries are now out of their most severe lockdowns and many people are returning to a new sense of normalcy, we are not entirely in the clear yet.
The following graph by Banks, Fancourt and Xu in Chapter Five of the 2021 World Happiness Report indicates that we are now in phases three and four:
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought on more awareness of the need for mental health treatment worldwide.
However, there is still insufficient mental health support in many places. One of the latest figures I saw from the World Health Organisation suggested that somewhere between 75 and 95% of people in need of mental health services in low- and middle-income countries cannot access adequate mental health support.
Even where I was working in Melbourne, Australia, in 2020, there was a shortage of psychologists who could take on new clients because the demand for mental health services was so high.
Therefore, countries need to find new ways to increase access to evidence-based mental health treatments and support. It is especially true for disadvantaged or discriminated against groups, as they are likely most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many of the long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are still not fully known. People have died, jobs have gone, businesses have closed, products have become harder to find or more expensive. Inflation and interest rates may have to increase to keep up with the printing of money and the countries’ spending during the pandemic so far.
There are lots of uncertain things about the future. Each of these things may come with potentially negative mental health impacts too. I am probably less cynical and more hopeful than the graph above shows about how people respond over time, but no one can fully predict what lies ahead.
Deep in the World Values Survey results, there are some really interesting findings to me based on how people from each country answered questions.
Some of the most fascinating ones were around values that parents consider important in trying to pass on to their children.
There were 11 values that parents were asked about, and each person was not allowed to say that more than five values were important to them. This meant that each person had to prioritize some values over others. It also can give us an indication of which country values what the most.
Let’s look at the results for Australia and the USA on each value and see how many respondents said that this aspect was important for them to try to pass on to their children. Then we can compare these results on each value to the country with the largest percentage of people who think it is important, and the country with the lowest proportion of people who rate this value as important for their children to learn:
Good manners
Country with the highest proportion of respondents rating it as important: Bangladesh = 98.3%
Australia = 84.2%
United States = 51.7%
Country with the lowest proportion of respondents rating it as important: Tajikstan = 0.4%
Independence
Country with the highest proportion of respondents rating it as important: China = 78.2%
United States = 55.5%
Australia = 51.9%
Country with the lowest proportion of respondents rating it as important: Iraq = 13.8%
Hard work
Country with the highest proportion of respondents rating it as important: Tunisia = 80.3%
United States = 67.9%
Australia = 47.4%
Country with the lowest proportion of respondents rating it as important: Columbia = 24.6%
Feeling of responsibility
Country with the highest proportion of respondents rating it as important: South Korea = 87.6%
United States = 59.3%
Australia = 55.8%
Country with the lowest proportion of respondents rating it as important: Ethiopia = 35.3%
Imagination
Country with the highest proportion of respondents rating it as important: South Korea = 52.4%
Australia: 35.8%
United States: 29.8%
Country with the lowest proportion of respondents rating it as important: Zimbabwe = 5%
Tolerance and respect for other people
Country with the highest proportion of respondents rating it as important: Germany = 84%
Australia: 79.7%
United States: 70.8%
Country with the lowest proportion of respondents rating it as important: Tajikstan = 40%
Thrift saving money and things
Country with the highest proportion of respondents rating it as important: Tunisia = 64.2%
United States = 27.2%
Australia = 23%
Country with the lowest proportion of respondents rating it as important: Nigeria = 13.9%
Determination, perseverance
Country with the highest proportion of respondents rating it as important: Japan = 63.3%
Australia: 42.7%
United States: 38.6%
Country with the lowest proportion of respondents rating it as important: Egypt = 10.8%
Religious faith
Country with the highest proportion of respondents rating it as important: Bangladesh = 84.5%
United States = 32.1%
Australia = 13.2%
Country with the lowest proportion of respondents rating it as important: China = 1.1%
Not being selfish (unselfishness)
Country with the highest proportion of respondents rating it as important: Tunisia = 61.5%
Australia = 41.7%
United States = 28.3%
Country with the lowest proportion of respondents rating it as important: South Korea = 4%
Obedience
Country with the highest proportion of respondents rating it as important: Ecuador = 62.6%
United States = 20.5%
Australia = 19%
Country with the lowest proportion of respondents rating it as important: Japan = 2.7%
In the 18th Century, employees worked up to 16 hours per day. Everyone knew this was unsustainable and led to severe burnout and horrible quality of life for the working class. Then in 1856, the 8 hours movement began in Victoria.
The Labor unions fought hard for the idea of 888. They wanted 8 hours for sleep, 8 hours for work, and 8 hours for family, rest and play. This statue was erected at the top end of Russell Street in Melbourne in 1903, meaning that they had achieved this goal for most people sometime between 1856 and 1903.
In the US, railroad workers began to work eight-hour shifts in 1916. Ford Motor Company followed suit in 1926 when they cut the working hours of their employees to 8 hours per day while doubling wages. The reduced work hours and better pay led to a happier and more committed workforce, and productivity increased. More leisure time and money also led to more workers buying more stuff (including Ford cars), which the government realised was better for raising GDP. Other companies also discovered that workers were more focused and productive when they worked less. So an eight-hour workday subsequently became the new norm.
Since then, the working hours have begun to creep back up again, especially in the US. Among people employed full-time, the average employee works 47 hours per week. 40% of full-time employees now work over 50 hours per week, with only 8% working less than 40 hours. So much for 8-hour workdays being the standard.
The Negative Consequences of Long Work Hours
Research has shown:
Working more than 10 hours per day can increase your risk of cardiovascular issues by 60%
Regularly working more than 10 hours a day can also increase your risk of stroke by 29%.
Working more than 11 hours a day leads to increased depression risk.
Working 12 hours days increases your risk of making mistakes at work by 23%.
In companies where the average weekly work time is under 43.5 hours per week, barely any fatigue-related problems are found.
In companies where the average weekly work time is between 43.5 hours and 46 hours, minor fatigue problems are detected.
In companies where the average weekly work time is over 46.5 hours, severe fatigue-related issues are seen.
The rate of relationship problems in those working 50-60 hours per week is 10%
The percentage of relationship problems in those working more than 60 hours per week is 30%.
Long working hours are linked to poorer mental health and sleep quality.
Long working hours are also linked with increased smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and weight gain.
Long working hours are related to lower job performance, as well as less job satisfaction and lower overall life satisfaction.
What if We Did Work Less?
The above infographic by Ohio University highlights why we need to work less. If the top 10% of employees in terms of productivity work in 52-minute blocks followed by 15- to 20-minute breaks, they can only do seven 52-minute work blocks daily. That is 7 x 52 = 364 minutes of work per day. That means we shouldn’t be putting in more than 6 hours and 4 minutes of work per day.
We also should be taking 1 hour and 56 minutes of breaks spread out across the day if we want to be at our most productive. That’s six breaks that are 19 minutes and 20 seconds long, or five 15-minute breaks and one 41-minute lunch break. As the infographic says, eight-hour days are only productive when we take sufficient breaks, and few people do.
A shorter workday is an alternative for people or organisations that don’t want to take regular breaks. However, the average person is only productive for 2 hours and 53 minutes daily. So what would happen if we reduced the workday to only 6 hours per day and paid people the same amount?
For a 6-hour workday to be effective, it would be necessary for companies to make it harder for their employees to waste time. Putting a block on news and social media sites would give the average person 1 hour and 49 minutes of their typical workday back. With the extra time after work, these employees could check the news and social media if they wanted to. If the average employee is 20% happier and healthier with six-hour workdays, they will be less likely to look for other jobs.
Microsoft has also recently experimented with four-day workweeks in Japan. When workers took the Friday and the weekend off, productivity went up 40%. Only 10% of the staff who tried this weren’t more productive overall. They also cut meeting times down to a maximum of 30-minutes each. I’m sure that this helped as well.
When other companies have tried four-day workweeks, they manage to produce 25% more output with the same size staff. They also find it easier to fill vacant positions when they arise, as more people like the four-day-a-week full-time job than a typical five-day-a-week role.
Conclusion
Since returning to Melbourne and full-time work, I have noticed that much of my stress and fatigue has returned. Finding the right work/life balance isn’t easy, especially with the uncertainty and anxiety created by the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m grateful to have full-time work doing what I love to do, but working in a way that isn’t harmful to my health and well-being is still a work in progress for me.
However you decide to manage your workload, please understand that working long hours without regular breaks is not sustainable. We can address this by working fewer hours in a day or fewer days in a week. Or you can merely get up from the desk and walk around a bit more when you notice that your productivity and energy levels are dropping. Getting outside for lunch and away from screens can also help. As can taking some pressure off of ourselves.
Working hard and being busy are seen as status symbols in Western society too frequently. Stepping out of this culture and into “island time” for 18 months was one of the best things I could have done for my fatigue, happiness and overall well-being.
The biggest question I still have is whether or not we can learn from our experiences and what the research says. Again, it seems counter-intuitive, but working less could help us be a healthier, happier, and more productive society.
These past few months have been wild and not in a good way.
On February 4th, I partially dislocated my knee while playing basketball in Port Vila, Vanuatu. It hurt—a lot.
On the 8th of February, I was medically relocated back to Australia, where an MRI confirmed the extent of the damage. I had ruptured my ACL, torn my meniscus, injured my MCL and fractured my tibia. Surgery was recommended, but the waiting list to see a specialist was lengthy. I worried that I would need to terminate my volunteer role as a Mental Health Specialist at Vanuatu’s Ministry of Health early. Fortunately, a private medical specialist said that I could go on a public waitlist for surgery and medically cleared me to return to Vanuatu to finish my role. I was still in pain, but I could walk and work, and the surgery could wait.
On March 7th, I returned to Port Vila and was super happy to see everyone again and put my psychological knowledge and skills towards reducing mental illness in Vanuatu.
Around this time, the number of Coronavirus cases began to escalate worldwide. Quickly. Before I had even re-adjusted to life in Port Vila again, the Australian Volunteer Program (AVP) informed us that the program was being suspended worldwide. All volunteers would be sent home in the next one to three weeks.
On the 16th of March, the program told us that we would need to pack up all our stuff and book a flight to return to Australia before the 31st of March. Then, on the 19th of March at 6:30 pm, AVP told us that we needed to leave the following day. After living in Vanuatu for 18 months, I did not even have a full day to pack and say a proper goodbye to everyone there, including dear friends, coworkers and patients. It was extremely tough and something that I am continuing to try and process both cognitively and emotionally.
Now that I am back in Melbourne and self-isolating, I suddenly have a lot of free time, no job and no demands except to stay on my property and away from other people.
Many of the things that we are all being asked to do during the pandemic are almost the exact opposite of what psychologists would normally recommend for people to do. This is especially the case for people with a diagnosable mental illness, such as depression or anxiety.
For depression, not doing things that we have previously enjoyed and isolating ourselves from others are two of the biggest traps that we can fall into. For anxiety, the biggest trap is continued avoidance of the things that we are afraid of.
A common psychological intervention for depression with a lot of scientific evidence supporting it is behavioural activation. This means that we push ourselves to do the things that we know are likely to be good for us, even if we don’t feel like doing them. For anxiety, the most empirically supported intervention is gradual exposure or slowly challenging ourselves to face our fears, especially with situations that feel like life or death situations to us but are actually pretty safe. Once we begin doing these things again, we realise that they are actually more enjoyable and less scary than our minds tell us. Over time, it can become easier and easier to do these (and other) activities.
What about Coronavirus?
Regardless of where you are in the world, the most important thing that we can do for the physical safety of ourselves and our loved ones is to follow the directives from your government about COVID-19, and the trusted health organisations that are helping to determine these directives in your area. If you are being asked to self-isolate, don’t go outside your property. If you are being asked to work from home and you can, please do, unless you are considered an essential service and needed out in the community. Wash your hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds regularly, or use a hand sanitiser if you have access to them. Don’t touch your face and cough into your elbow and away from others. Practice social distancing and stay at least 1.5 metres from others. Don’t hang out in groups or touch or shake hands or hug and kiss others. Wear a mask if you are worried that you have any symptoms. Call the emergency numbers or hotlines in your region if you are concerned about your symptoms. Ask medical professionals about what you should do rather than just turn up to unannounced clinics or hospitals.
Hopefully, most of you know the relevant recommendations in your area by now and why they are important to help flatten the curve. If we can all do our part, it will help reduce how overwhelmed our medical facilities become with severe or critical COVID-19 cases, which will reduce the overall fatality rate.
How Can We Mentally Cope?
The current Coronavirus pandemic does seem to be having a huge psychological impact on people across the globe. Many people were in denial initially or trying to minimise the seriousness of the virus or the impact that they thought it would have. However, once it began to spread more, people began to feel scared, afraid, fearful, anxious, worried, nervous, panicky and overwhelmed about what was going on in the present and what may come in the future. Others report feeling sad, shocked, despondent, hopeless, helpless, or in grief about what they have already lost and what they can do about it at the moment. Or they feel annoyed, frustrated, mad, or angry about what has happened, how it has happened, and the decisions that governments and others are making to try and slow down the spread of the virus.
It is a challenging time for everyone.
During my first few days of self-isolation, I think I was still recovering from the panic associated with trying to pack up my life and leave Vanuatu in less than 24 hours. I was in shock, maybe, or denial. For the first three days, I didn’t even unpack my bag. I just communicated with friends and family, read some books, worried, played video games, watched Netflix, ate and slept.
By day four, which was yesterday, enough was enough. So I pulled out a notebook and decided that I would try the Ivy Lee Productivity Method. This 100-year-old method to boost productivity is quite simple, with only five steps:
By figuring out my top 6 priorities and writing them down, I managed to feel a lot better and more in control, even before I started doing the tasks. I also managed to fly through the tasks and feel productive again for the first time since being back in Melbourne. I resumed my daily meditation practice using the ‘Waking Up’ app. I unpacked my bags and tidied my room. I switched my SIM card in my phone back to my Australian one. I did some much-needed paperwork online and did a weights workout while watching some TV. It was a good day.
If you are feeling overwhelmed or unproductive at the moment, try the Ivy Lee Productivity Method. Just make sure that you only put six items on the list, and do the most important things first.
Having a schedule or consistent routine is also something that I would highly recommend during this pandemic. Work and school often provide this for us, but you need to create this yourself if you are at home 24/7. A helpful routine might consist of:
trying to sleep and wake at relatively consistent times,
not spending too little or too much time in bed (7–9 hours for adults, more for children),
regularly eating with lots of vegetables and not too much junk food or sweets,
staying hydrated by drinking enough water and minimising consumption of alcohol, nicotine and illicit drugs,
communicating via phone or the internet with at least one friend or family member daily,
doing some form of strength training or cardiovascular exercise for 20–30 minutes a day, even if you are confined to a single room,
having some daily tasks that give you a sense of achievement, engagement or mastery, and
getting fresh air and sunlight regularly if you can do this without breaking any restrictions in your area.
The more you can build these things into your daily routine, the greater the chance of maintaining or improving your mental health. Having some activities that we enjoy each day and look forward to doing can also really help.
Which Activities Can Help?
If you still aren’t exactly sure what you can do from day to day at the moment, a pleasant activities list or pleasant activity schedule can help. There are many different ones available online for free. Still, the one I will use for this article is the ‘Fun Activities Catalogue’ by the Centre for Clinical Interventions in Western Australia.
Out of the 365 activities listed, there are some that I can definitely not do while in self-quarantine, including going ice-skating, going out to dinner, socialising in person, flying a plane, scuba diving, going on a tour or to the zoo or movies, or playing sport.
What is surprising, though, is just how many items I still can do. Read the list of self-quarantine friendly activities below, and rank on a scale from 1 to 5 how much you think you would enjoy doing the task if you were to do it. If you can’t do that particular item where you are living, just skip it. For this exercise, 1 = I would hate to do this activity, 2 = I wouldn’t really like doing this activity 3 = doing the activity would be okay, 4 = it would be pretty fun to do this activity, and 5 = I would love to do this activity!
Spending time in my backyard
Watching the clouds drift by
Debating with someone online or over the phone
Painting my nails
Scheduling a day with nothing to do
Giving positive feedback about something (e.g. writing a letter or email about good service)
Feeding the birds
Spending an evening with good friends online or on the phone
Making jams or preserves
Getting dinner delivered by a restaurant and having them drop it at your doorstep
Buying gifts online
Having a political discussion online or over the phone
Repairing things around the house
Washing my car
Watching TV, videos
Sending a loved one a card in the mail
Baking something
Taking a bath
Having a video call with someone who lives far away
Organising my wardrobe
Playing musical instruments
Lighting scented candles, oils or incense
Spending time alone
Exercising
Putting up a framed picture or artwork
Looking up at the stars at night
Birdwatching from my backyard or window
Doing something spontaneously in the house
Going on a picnic in the backyard
Having a warm drink
Massaging hand cream into my hands
Fantasising about the future
Laughing
Clearing my email inbox
Getting out of debt/paying debts
Looking at old photo albums or photos on my computer or Facebook
Exploring Google Earth
Walking around my house and yard
Researching a topic of interest
Redecorating
Donating money to a cause
Smelling a flower
Opening the curtains and blinds to let light in
Doing jigsaw puzzles
Sorting through old clothes or items that you could donate to a charity eventually
Lying in the sun
Learning a magic trick
Talking on the phone
Listening to a podcast or radio show
Noticing what I can see in the neighbourhood from my house or yard
Doing arts and crafts
Sketching, painting
Mowing the lawn
Doing the dishes
Sitting outside and listening to the birds sing
Watching TED talks online
Planning a holiday for the future
Playing cards
Putting moisturising cream on my face/body
Re-watching a favourite movie
Gardening
Going camping in the living room or backyard
Entering a competition
Doing crossword puzzles
Patting or cuddling my pet
Cooking a special meal
Putting extra effort into my appearance
Doing a favour for someone online
Building a birdhouse or feeder
Looking at pictures of beautiful scenery
Talking to family members online or over the phone
Listening to music
Learning a new language using the app Duolingo
Taking a free online class
Working on my blog or seeing clients via telehealth
Washing my hair
Singing around the house
Creatively reusing old items
Stretching
Maintaining a musical instrument (e.g. restringing guitar)
Buying clothes online
Snuggling up with a soft blanket
Listening to an audiobook
Watching an old stand-up comedy show on Netflix or Youtube
Writing down a list of things I am grateful for
Teaching a special skill to someone else online (e.g. knitting, woodworking, painting, language)
Playing chess using an app
Playing video games
Jumping on a trampoline
Sending a text message to a friend
Doodling
Putting a vase of fresh flowers in my house
Participating in an online protest or campaign
Baking home-made bread
Walking barefoot on the soft grass
Watching a movie marathon
Skipping/jumping rope
Wearing an outfit that makes me feel good
Cooking some meals to freeze for later
Hobbies (stamp collecting, model building, etc.)
Talking to an older relative over the phone and asking them questions about their life
Listening to classical music
Photography
Watching funny videos on YouTube
Doing something religious or spiritual (e.g. praying)
Making my bed with fresh sheets
Lifting weights
Early morning coffee and news
Planning a themed party for next year (e.g. costume, murder mystery)
Wearing comfortable clothes
Shining my shoes
Trying to act like the characters in my favourite movies or TV shows
De-cluttering
Arranging flowers
Working on my car or bicycle
Juggling or learning to juggle
Contacting an old school friend
Calligraphy
Sleeping
Playing with my pets
Listening to the radio
Doing Sudoku
Planting vegetables or flowers
Surfing the internet
Doing embroidery, cross-stitching
Buying books from Amazon or bookdepository.co.uk
Meditating using Smiling Mind or Headspace or Calm or Balance or Waking Up apps
Training my pet to do a new trick
Planning a day’s activities
Waking up early and getting ready at a leisurely pace
Organising my home workspace
Writing (e.g. poems, articles, blog, books)
Dancing in the dark
Reading classic literature
Putting on perfume or cologne
Reading magazines or newspapers
Calling a friend
Sending a handwritten letter
Reading fiction
Meeting new people online by joining groups that you are interested in
Doing 5 minutes of calm deep breathing
Buying new stationery online
Turning off electronic devices for an hour (e.g. computer, phone, TV)
Buying music (MP3s, Spotify premium subscription)
Relaxing
Watching an old sports game (rugby, soccer, basketball, etc.)
Doing woodworking
Planning a nice surprise for someone else
Saying “I love you” to someone important in your life online, over the phone or in a letter
Making a playlist of upbeat songs
Colouring in
Doing a nagging task (e.g. making a phone call, scheduling an online appointment, replying to an email)
Shaping a bonsai plant
Planning my career
Reading non-fiction
Writing a song or composing music
Having a barbecue
Sewing
Dancing
Looking at art online
Making a ‘To-Do’ list of tasks
Having quiet evenings
Singing in the shower
Refurbishing furniture
Exchanging emails, chatting on the internet
Knitting/crocheting/quilting
Napping in a hammock
Making a gift for someone
Having discussions with friends
Trying a new recipe
Pampering myself at home (e.g. putting on a face mask)
Reading poetry
Savouring a piece of fresh fruit
Eating outside in my backyard
Making a pot of tea
Using special items (e.g. fine china, silver cutlery, jewellery, clothes, souvenir mugs)
Doing a DIY project (e.g. making homemade soap, making a mosaic)
Taking care of my plants
Telling a joke online or over the phone
Discussing books online
Watching boxing or wrestling online or on TV
Giving someone a genuine compliment
Practising yoga or Pilates
Shaving
Genuinely listening to others
Tidying-up
Rearranging the furniture in my house
Blowing bubbles
Buying new furniture online
Watching a sunset or sunrise from the balcony
Watching a funny TV show or movie
Recycling old items
Boxing a punching bag
Cleaning
Daydreaming
Learning about my genealogy/family tree
Setting up a budget
Writing a positive comment on a website /blog
Eating something nourishing (e.g. chicken soup)
Taking a class online (e.g. Masterclass, Udemy, Coursera)
Combing or brushing my hair
Writing diary/journal entries
Scrapbooking
Cooking an international cuisine
Reading comics
Trying new hairstyles
Watching a fireplace or campfire
Whistling
Working from home
Playing board games (e.g. Scrabble, Monopoly)
Savouring a piece of chocolate
Hunting for a bargain online
Buying, selling stocks and shares
Buying myself something nice
Solving riddles
Watching old home videos
Making home-made pizza
Origami
Doing something nostalgic (e.g. eating a childhood treat, listening to music from a certain time in my life)
Joining a club online (e.g. film, book, sewing, etc.)
Hopefully, there are at least a few items in the above list that you would find fun or would love to do. If so, put them on your to-do list or build them into your routine somewhere over the next week, and see what happens. If it’s been a long time or you have never done it before, it may be even more fun than you expect once you get started. Just make sure that you give the task a proper go for at least ten minutes before stopping and trying something else.
Conclusion
In the 21st Century, our lives have become extremely busy, full and fast-paced. With the COVID-19 pandemic, we are now being told that the most helpful thing we can do is stay at home and remain physically distant from others. Unless you are in an essential profession, this could be a time to slow down. To check in with those that you care most about. To chat for longer and to connect emotionally. To reflect on your life and rediscover what really matters to you. To hope and dream and plan for a better future. And to try things that you otherwise may not have had the chance or the time to do.
1. There are 10 categories of experience that are considered to have adverse consequences on the later development of children
These include:
Abuse:
Emotional
Physical
Sexual
Neglect:
Emotional
Physical
Household Dysfunction:
Domestic Violence
Substance Abuse
Mental Illness
Parental Separation/Divorce
Crime
2. It is possible to determine your own Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) score
The ACE score is a measure that has been designed to measure the cumulative nature of childhood distress.
If you are interested in finding out your ACE score, please answer the following questionnaire from acestudy.org:
While you were growing up, during your first 18 years of life:
1. Did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often…
Swear at you, insult you, put you down, or humiliate you? or
Act in a way that made you afraid that you might be physically hurt?
Yes? No? If yes, enter 1 _____________
2. Did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often…
Push, grab, slap, or throw something at you? or
Ever strike you that you had marks or were injured?
Yes? No? If yes, enter 1 _____________
3. Did an adult or person at least 5 years older than you ever…
Touch or fondle you, or have you sexually touch their body? or
Attempt or actually have oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse with you?
Yes? No? If yes, enter 1 ____________
4. Did you often or very often feel that…
No one in your family loved you or thought you were important or special? or
Your family didn’t look out for each other, feel close to each other, or support each other?
Yes? No? If yes, enter 1 ___________
5. Did you often or very often feel that…
You didn’t have enough to eat, had to wear dirty clothes, and had no one to protect you? or
Your parents were too drunk or high to take care of you or take you to the doctor if you needed it?
Yes? No? If yes, enter 1 ___________
6. Were your parents ever separated or divorced?
Yes? No? If yes, enter 1 ___________
7. Was your mother or stepmother:
Often or very often pushed, grabbed, slapped, or had something thrown at her? or
Sometimes, often, or very often kicked, bitten, hit with a fist, or hit with something hard? or
Ever repeatedly hit at least a few minutes or threatened with a gun or knife
Yes? No? If yes, enter 1 ___________
8. Did you live with anyone who was a problem drinker or alcoholic or who used street drugs?
Yes? No? If yes, enter 1 ___________
9. Was a household member depressed or mentally ill, or did a household member attempt suicide?
Yes? No? If yes enter 1 ___________
10. Did a household member go to prison?
Yes? No? If yes enter 1 __________
Now add up your “Yes” answers: __________ This is your ACE Score.
3. Adverse childhood experiences are common
Of the 17,337 individuals surveyed, here is the prevalence of each possible adverse experience, from most to least, represented as a percentage:
Physical abuse towards the child — 28.3%
Substance abuse in the household — 26.9%
Parental separation/divorce — 23.3%
Sexual abuse toward the child — 20.7%
Mental Illness in the household — 19.4%
Emotional neglect towards the child — 14.8%
Domestic violence in the household — 12.7%
Emotional abuse towards the child — 10.6%
Physical neglect towards the child — 9.9%
Imprisoned household member — 4.7%
This graph from acestoohigh.com presents these percentages visually:
4. It is more common to have an adverse childhood experience than not to have any
As shown in the graph from cdc.gov, 64% of the population surveyed experienced at least one adverse childhood experience(ACE), with the majority of those reporting at least one ACE reporting multiple ACEs.
Beyond the ACEs study, at least one in four children will suffer from physical, emotional or sexual abuse at some point during their childhoods, with one-in-seven children experiencing abuse or neglect in the past 12 months (Finklehor, Turner, Shattuck & Hamby, 2015).
5. Adverse childhood experiences are linked with a higher risk of many things in later life
This includes:
Alcohol abuse and dependence
Early smoking initiation and current smoking status
Illicit drug use
IV drug abuse
Obesity
Suicide attempts
Depression
Anxiety
Hyperactivity
Sleep Disturbances
Hallucinations
Eating disorders
Suicide attempts
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Conduct disorder
Teen or unintended pregnancies
Intimate partner violence
Improper brain development
Impaired learning ability and general cognitive difficulties
Attention and memory difficulties
Visual and/or motor impairment
Lower language development
Impaired social and emotional skills
Poorer quality of life
Another long-term study indicated that approximately 80% of young adults who had previously been abused qualified for at least one psychiatric diagnosis at 21 (Silverman, Reinherz & Gianconia, 1996). Neglected or abused children are also 59% more likely to be arrested during childhood, 28% more likely to engage in criminal behaviour as adults, and 30% more likely to engage in violent crime as an adult (Widom & Maxfield, 2001).
The graph below from vetoviolence.cdc.gov shows the increased risk of many conditions in individuals who have previously had adverse childhood experiences:
As you can see, there is a higher risk of experiencing these difficulties for individuals with ACEs. However, the prevalence rate is NOT 100% for any of the factors. The importance of this should not be understated…
Individuals who have had negative experiences during their childhood can still grow and flourish as adults and can also be more resilient due to learning how to overcome significant challenges when they are younger.
A major longitudinal study even found that what goes right during childhood is often more important than what goes wrong. Having even one safe, stable and nurturing figure in a child’s life can reduce the later risk of psychological and physical health problems (Vaillant, 2015).
6. Adverse childhood experiences are linked with a higher risk of later disease and early mortality
This includes:
High Blood Pressure
High Cholesterol
Obesity
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD)
Liver Disease
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
Lung Cancer
Death Before Age 65
As you can see in the table below from acestoohigh.com, individuals with an ACE score of 4 or more are at a significantly higher risk of developing later physical health conditions:
Abuse and neglect during childhood can also negatively impact the ability of individuals to efficiently establish and maintain healthy romantic adult relationships (Colman & Widom, 2004). As relationship warmth and social connection are vital protective factors for long-term health and happiness, many of these more significant risks could at least be partially explained by the higher risk of interpersonal conflict, disconnection and isolation.
7. The more adverse childhood experiences one has, the more significant likelihood they have of experiencing difficulties with their mental and physical health and overall well-being later in life
A “dose-response reaction” exists with most risk factors and following conditions, in that the more adverse childhood experiences one has, the higher their risk is for adverse outcomes later in life, as shown in the above graphic from cdc.gov.
8. It is possible to conceptualise how these adverse childhood experiences lead to an early death
The ACE Pyramid from cdc.gov suggests that adverse childhood experiences contribute to premature death via four intermediate processes that develop in a sequential nature:
9. Reducing adverse experiences of childhood will significantly improve public health and reduce the burden that these issues have on individuals and the society
Childhood abuse and neglect are not just damaging to the individual. They also place a substantial financial strain on society, with an estimated total lifetime economic burden of approximately $124 billion (2010 dollars) in the US in 2008 (Fang, Brown, Florence & Mercy, 2012). This is similar to the financial burden of other public health issues, such as diabetes and stroke.
The main reasons for the increased economic burden are lost productivity, followed by increased medical costs, special education, child welfare and criminal justice costs (Fang, Brown, Florence & Mercy, 2012).
Even though it may be expensive to develop and implement programs that aim to prevent child neglect and abuse, the benefits of these programs, if valid, are very likely to outweigh the costs in the long run.
10. We need to do something to address and lower the prevalence of ACEs in future generations
Creating safe, stable and nurturing environments (SSNREs) is the key to positively impacting reducing ACEs from now on.
The five best practices to do this is shown in the graph below:
The US Centers For Disease Control (CDC) also suggests:
Greater treatment for mental illness and substance abuse
More high-quality child care, and
More financial support for low-income families.
Conclusion
Please help to get this information out there to as many people as possible. Also, if you found something of value in this article, please share it or pass it onto whoever else may benefit too!
Damon Ashworth Psychology 
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