Adversity in Childhood Linked to White Blood Cell Counts in Adulthood Due to Narcissism

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110662

Commentary

This study investigated the immune response to threat and examined self-reported childhood threat, life history speed, and characteristics of the Dark Triad in a sample of (N = 234).

These studies showed that those who self-reported having had a harmful childhood had faster life history strategies, higher Dark Triad characteristics, and were more prone to inflammation. (Among them, sexually transmitted diseases were particularly common.)

In addition, men reported harsher childhoods, Machiavellianism, psychopathology, faster life history strategies and higher white blood cell counts than women.

And through structural equation modeling, they have shown that the effects of childhood adversity on adult WBC counts are mediated by narcissism, especially in females.