Adversity exposure is a person's history of experiences or conditions classified as adversity under a stated research definition. Event type, severity, duration, developmental timing and available support can all distinguish histories that receive the same simple event count. An exposure measure and the person's response to it are different variables.
A longitudinal design can measure early adversity exposure, later psychological stress and subsequent symptoms separately. This allows a stress sensitization hypothesis to predict a different relation between later stressors and symptoms according to earlier history. Constance Hammen and collaborators tested that possibility in a prospective study of young women.[ref]
Depression and sensitization to stressors among young women as a function of childhood adversity by Constance Hammen and others. 2000, abstract: two-year prospective stress-sensitization study and the limitation concerning mechanisms
An observed association does not uniquely identify a biological mechanism or make exposure randomly assigned. Measurement differences, earlier symptoms and confounding remain relevant. Nor does evidence of varied responses justify treating additional adversity as a beneficial intervention.
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