Child Physical Abuse and Self-Perceived Social Isolation Among Adolescents

Elliott, Gregory C.; Cunningham, Susan M.; Linder, Meadow; Colangelo, Melissa; Gross, Michelle M.

doi:10.1177/0886260505281439

Cited by 63 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(40 reference statements)

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“…It may be harder to establish social support networks in environments with high rates of robberies and break-ins, or when one is fearful of others who may perpetrate a crime, which in turn may negatively affect perceived social support and loneliness. Elliott and colleagues’ (2005) study on adolescents, which found that those from riskier neighborhoods were more socially isolated, provides some evidence for this explanation. However, low social support may also predispose individuals to being the target of crime and could be a possible explanation for the association if current social support is consistent with social support at the time of exposure to crime-related trauma.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between past trauma, current social support, and loneliness in incarcerated populations

et al. 2014

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BackgroundPrisoners are a vulnerable population with higher rates of trauma than community populations. Social support is important for both in–prison adjustment and post-release community re-entry. Loneliness, a related construct to social support, has been found to be associated with elevated rates of suicidal ideation and behavior, depression, and hopelessness in incarcerated populations.MethodsThis study explored the relationship of past physical, sexual, and crime-related trauma to current perceived social support and loneliness in a mixed-gender sample of 235 depressed prisoners enrolled in depression treatment studies.ResultsHistory of any trauma, regardless of type, as well as physical, sexual, and crime-related traumas were associated with lower current perceived social support scores (controlling for gender). Past sexual trauma and crime-related trauma were associated with higher levels of loneliness (controlling for gender), though history of any trauma and physical trauma was not.ConclusionFindings suggest that both overall trauma and specific types of trauma are linked to perceived social support and loneliness among incarcerated persons with major depressive disorder. This is the first study, to the authors’ knowledge, that specifically observed a relationship between past trauma and current social support and loneliness in prison populations. Many intervention programs for prisoners encourage them to develop non-criminogenic and substance-free social networks. These programs should be aware that individuals who have experienced interpersonal trauma may have additional interpersonal challenges, and may need strategies to address interpersonal deficits related to trauma exposure.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2194-7899-2-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between past trauma, current social support, and loneliness in incarcerated populations

et al. 2014

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“…In addition to overeating, future research should also consider physical inactivity and sedentary behavior as potential responses to abuse. Abused individuals generally show signs of isolation from the community [17,32,33] as a way to protect themselves from potential abusers. However, such behavior may cause a decrease in physical activity and an increase in sedentary behavior [34] which in turn may contribute to the development of overweight.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The prevalence of physical, sexual and mental abuse among adolescents and the association with BMI status

et al. 2012

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BackgroundStudies among adults show an association between abuse and Body Mass Index (BMI) status. When an aberrant BMI status as a consequence of abuse is already prevalent in adolescence, early detection and treatment of abuse might prevent these adolescents from developing serious weight problems and other long-term social, emotional and physical problems in adulthood. Therefore, this study investigated the prevalence of physical, sexual and mental abuse among adolescents and examined the association of these abuse subtypes with BMI status.MethodsIn total, data of 51,856 secondary school students aged 13–16 who had completed a questionnaire on health, well-being and lifestyle were used. BMI was classified into four categories, underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity. Adolescents reported if they had ever been physically, sexually or mentally abused. Crude and adjusted General Estimation Equation (GEE) analyses were performed to investigate the association between abuse subtypes and BMI status. Analyses were adjusted for ethnicity and parental communication, and stratified for gender and educational level.ResultsEighteen percent of the adolescents reported mental abuse, 7% reported sexual abuse, and 6% reported physical abuse. For underweight, overweight and obese adolescents these percentages were 17%, 25%, and 44%; 7%, 8%, and 16%; and 6%, 8%, 18% respectively. For the entire population, all these subtypes of abuse were associated with being overweight and obese (OR=3.67, 1.79 and 1.50) and all but sexual abuse were associated with underweight (OR=1.21 and 1.12). Stratified analyses showed that physical and sexual abuse were significantly associated with obesity among boys (OR=1.77 and 2.49) and among vocational school students (OR=1.60 and 1.69), and with underweight among girls (OR=1.26 and 0.83).ConclusionMental abuse was reported by almost half of the obese adolescents and associated with underweight, overweight and obesity. Longitudinal analyses are recommended to explore the causality of and the mechanisms explaining this association between abuse and overweight.

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“…A number of studies have reported that abused children have difficulty getting along with other people [19], [20]. The reason for this may stem from a deficit in the ability to recognize the facial expressions of others and infer their beliefs and emotions from these expressions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship between Child Maltreatment and Emotion Recognition

Koizumi

Takagishi

2014

PLoS ONE

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Child abuse and neglect affect the development of social cognition in children and inhibit social adjustment. The purpose of this study was to compare the ability to identify the emotional states of others between abused and non-abused children. The participants, 129 children (44 abused and 85 non-abused children), completed a children’s version of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). Results showed that the mean accuracy rate on the RMET for abused children was significantly lower than the rate of the non-abused children. In addition, the accuracy rates for positive emotion items (e.g., hoping, interested, happy) were significantly lower for the abused children, but negative emotion and neutral items were not different across the groups. This study found a negative relationship between child abuse and the ability to understand others’ emotions, especially positive emotions.

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Child Physical Abuse and Self-Perceived Social Isolation Among Adolescents

Cited by 63 publications

References 45 publications

Associations between past trauma, current social support, and loneliness in incarcerated populations

Associations between past trauma, current social support, and loneliness in incarcerated populations

The prevalence of physical, sexual and mental abuse among adolescents and the association with BMI status

The Relationship between Child Maltreatment and Emotion Recognition

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