Parental abuse raises cancer risk in children Physical Or Emotional Ill-Treatment Spells Danger In Adulthood

Houston: Kids who are abused by their parents are more likely to have cancer in adulthood, effects of which are more significant when mothers abuse their daughters and fathers their sons, a new research says. 

    The research by Purdue University says that kids who were frequently abused either emotionally or physically by their parents were more likely to have cancer in adulthood. 
    "People often say that children are resilient and they'll bounce back, but we found that there are events that can have long-term consequences on adulthealth," Kenneth Ferraro, professor of Sociology and director of Purdue's Centre on Aging and the Life Course, said. 
    The research was conducted with sociology and gerontology graduate student Patricia Morton and the study is published online by the Journal of Aging and Health. "We started examining a variety of childhood misfortunes, including abuse, and when these were all combined, we found that men with the most stressors during childhood were more likely to develop cancer," Morton said. "Second, we found that when children were abused by their same-sex parent, it increased their cancer risk." 
    The researchers can't say exactly why that is, but a possible reason is the effect of the greater social bond between same-sex kids and parents. "Other studies have shown that if a mother smokes, the daughter is more likely to smoke," Morton said. PTI

THINK OF LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES