Child maltreatment in Germany: prevalence rates in the general population

Abstract

BackgroundChild maltreatment and its consequences are considered a major public health problem. So far, there is only one study from Germany reporting prevalence rates on different types of maltreatment.MethodsA representative sample of the German general population was examined for experiences of child maltreatment using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) between September and November 2016. A total of 2510 (53.3% female) participants between 14 and 94 years (M = 48.8 years) were enrolled. Besides the CTQ, a range of sociodemographic information was collected. The interrelatedness of different types of maltreatment was examined using configuration analysis and predictors for maltreatment were identified by performing binary logistic regression analyses.ResultsOverall, 2.6% (f: 3.9%, m: 1.2%) of all participants reported severe emotional abuse, 3.3% (f: 3.4%, m: 3.3%) severe physical abuse, 2.3% (f: 3.7%, m: 0.7%) severe sexual abuse, 7.1% (f: 8.1%, m: 5.9%) severe emotional neglect and 9% (f: 9.2%, m: 8.9%) severe physical neglect. Women were more likely to report at least moderate sexual and emotional abuse than men. The largest difference between age groups was reported for physical neglect, with participants aged over 70 years reporting the highest rates. Participants who reported childhood maltreatment were more likely to be unemployed or have lower educational outcomes. The most common combination of maltreatment types were physical and emotional neglect, all five types of maltreatment combined and physical and emotional neglect and physical abuse combined.ConclusionsChild maltreatment, especially physical neglect is common in the German population. Women seem to be at greater risk for sexual and emotional abuse than men. Knowledge about different types of maltreatment based on the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) can help to put findings of future studies into an epidemiological and societal context.

Association of child maltreatment subtypes and long-term physical health in a German representative sample

“…In detail, 163 (6.5%) reported emotional abuse, 167 (6.7%) physical abuse, 190 (7.6%) sexual abuse, 332 (13.3%) emotional neglect and 562 (22.5%) physical neglect. A detailed description of child maltreatment in the sample can be seen elsewhere (Witt et al, 2017). …”

“…This result is consistent with data from an analyses showing a comparable size of increase in the odds for hypertension if physical or sexual abuse or physical neglect occurred (Suglia et al, 2014). Especially with regard to the high prevalence rates of emotional and physical neglect, which are two- to three-fold higher than rates for abuse (Schilling et al, 2016; Witt et al, 2017), this points towards a potentially underestimated risk factor for many common, life-threatening diseases.…”

“…Along with very high prevalence rates – one-third of adults report that they experienced some form of maltreatment during childhood (Witt, Brown, Plener, Brahler, & Fegert, 2017) – the consequences of child maltreatment are enormous. Psychosocial impairment and economic impact, a significant reduction in quality of life and a strikingly increased morbidity, including both mental and somatic health problems, have been reported (Norman et al, 2012).…”

“…A recent epidemiological study from a German sample reports at least moderate experience of emotional abuse in 6.6%, physical abuse in 6.7%, sexual abuse in 7.6%, and emotional and physical neglect in 13.3% and 22.5%, respectively (Witt et al, 2017). …”

“…Moreover, there is a lack of studies analysing the association of single subtypes of maltreatment and physical health. In particular, the relationship between emotional and physical neglect and physical health outcomes has rarely been assessed, even though neglect occurs much more commonly than other forms of maltreatment (Witt et al, 2017). Therefore, in an epidemiological, cross-sectional approach, using data from a representative sample of the German population, we sought to analyse the odds for different physical health conditions depending on the experience of different subtypes of child maltreatment, and, furthermore, conducted a regression analysis assessing the association with the total number of subtypes experienced.…”