Depressive symptoms among physically abused and psychiatrically disturbed children.

Abstract

The present investigation examined the relation of physical abuse and depressive symptoms among 79 child psychiatric inpatients (ages 6 to 13). Childhood depression, hopelessness, and self-esteem were assessed through questionnaire or interview measures administered to the children. Mothers also completed measures to evaluate their children's dysfunction. As predicted, physically abused children, compared to nonphysically abused patient control subjects, evinced significantly lower self-esteem and greater depression and negative expectations toward their futures. Among abused children, those with both past and current abuse showed more severe symptoms of depression that did those with either past or current abuse only. The differences in depressive symptoms between abused and nonabused children could not be accounted for by differences in child psychiatric diagnosis, age, race, gender, IQ, or severity of psychopathology or parent psychiatric diagnoses, marital, or socioeconomic status. The results suggest that physical abuse, at least for a psychiatric patient sample, is related to symptoms of depression. The possible basis for this relation and the treatment implications of these findings are briefly discussed.Children who have been physically abused are at risk for a variety of psychological symptoms, problems of adjustment, and developmental, motoric, and cognitive deficiencies (Friedrich & Einbender, 1983;Newberger, Newberger, & Hampton, 1983). Among psychiatric problems of abused children, antisocial behaviors have received frequent attention. The focus is understandable given the connections between violence in the home (e.g., child and spouse abuse) and aggressive child behavior and delinquency (e.g., George & Main, 1979;Hunner & Walker, 1981;Kinard, 1980).Relatively little attention has been accorded the investigation of depression among physically abused children. Yet, for several reasons, depressive symptoms might be expected

El papel del maestro y la escuela en la Protección Infantil : Detección de casos y notificación en los servicios de protección infantil en La Rioja

“…En tercer lugar, los niños maltratados también muestran carencias emocionales y un funcionamiento pobre a nivel de salud mental (Armenta y Romero, 2008;Banyard, Williams y Siegel, 2001;Brown y Anderson, 1991;Myers, Berliner, Briere, Hendrix, Jenny y Reid, 2002). Por ejemplo, además de presentar mayor probabilidad de establecer un vínculo de apego inseguro (Cantón y Cortés, 1997;Crittenden, 1992; Crittenden y Ainsworth, 1989), los hallazgos de los estudios apuntan a una mayor presencia de sintomatología depresiva en escolares con problemas de maltrato (Cerezo y Frias, 1994;Fantuzzo, 1990;Kazdin, Moser, Colbus y Bell, 1985).…”

Conseqüências da violência familiar na saúde da criança e do adolescente: contribuições para a elaboração de propostas de ação

“…Um outro enfoque, que somente nas últi-mas duas décadas tem recebido alguma ênfa-se, concerne às possíveis conseqüências, para a saúde da criança, do testemunho da violência entre os pais (Freidrich & Einbender, 1983;Kazdin et al, 1985). Alguns autores apontam que, diferentemente do que se supunha, as conseqüências emocionais da convivência das crianças em situações de grande conflito podem ser até mesmo piores do que quando elas mesmas são o alvo de violência.…”

Prevalencia de las alteraciones emocionales en una muestra de menores maltratados

“…Otros estudios han centrado el interés en el análisis de la sintomatología depresiva, demostrando que los menores que han sido víctimas de abuso sexual y/o físico presentaron mayores niveles de depresión que sus iguales (Beitchman, Zucker, Hood, DaCosta, Akman et al 1992;Fantuzzo, 1990;Kashani y Carlson, 1987;Kazdin, Moser, Colbus y Bell, 1985). Morrow y Sorrell (1989) informaron que característi-cas específicas de la depresión tales como baja autoestima, desamparo, desesperanza y conductas auto-destructivas, también se asocian al maltrato, especialmente al abuso sexual infantil.…”