Subjective life expectancy mediates the association between adverse childhood experiences and depression: A parallel process latent growth curve study.

OBJECTIVE

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with poor mental health outcomes, including depression in later life. Subjective life expectancy (SLE) may mediate the relationship between ACEs and depression. However, the longitudinal relationship between ACEs, SLE, and depression remains underexplored.

METHOD: We used five waves of data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study and employed a parallel process latent growth curve model to examine the longitudinal relationships among ACEs, SLE, and depression.

RESULTS

The model demonstrated good fit (root-mean-square error of approximation = 0.039, comparative fit index = 0.956, Tucker-Lewis index = 0.935, standardized root-mean-square residual = 0.023). ACEs negatively predicted the SLE intercept (β = -0.133, p < .001) and positively predicted the depression intercept (β = 0.258, p < .001). The SLE intercept was negatively associated with the depression intercept (β = -0.873, p < .001), and a lower SLE intercept predicted a faster increase in depressive symptoms over time. Mediation analyses confirmed that the SLE intercept significantly mediated the effects of ACEs on both the initial level and the longitudinal trajectory of depression.

CONCLUSIONS

SLE plays a key mediating role between ACEs and depression, suggesting that interventions aimed at improving SLE may reduce the long-term psychological burden of ACEs on mental health in later life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).