Effects of childhood physical abuse on depression, problem drinking and perceived poor health status in adolescents living in rural Taiwan

Abstract

Aims: The aim of the present study was to investigate the magnitude and independence of the effects of childhood physical abuse on adolescent depression, problem drinking and perceived poor mental health in Taiwanese indigenous and non‐indigenous adolescents living in rural areas controlling for individual and familial characteristics. Methods: A sample of adolescents was randomly selected from junior high schools in the rural areas of southern Taiwan. The associations between childhood physical abuse and adolescent depression, problem drinking and perceived poor health status were examined on univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Results: Of the 1684 adolescents who completed the questionnaires, 374 (22.2%) reported that they had experienced physical abuse in childhood. Controlling for individual and familial factors, childhood physical abuse significantly increased the risk of depression, problem drinking and perceived poor health status in the present sample of adolescents on multivariate logistic regression. Conclusion: History of childhood physical abuse should be elicited from adolescents in treatment for depression, alcohol abuse or physical discomfort of unknown etiology. This finding may be of clinical benefit in terms of the design and implementation of intervention.

Determinants of Substance Abuse in a Population of Children and Adolescents Involved with the Child Welfare System

“…Maltreatment can be seen as a mediating variable between parental and youth substance abuse. For example, parents who abuse substances are more likely to maltreat their children (Walsh et al 2003) and these children are more likely to abuse substances (Yen et al 2008).…”

Consumo de álcool e violência física entre adolescentes: quem é o preditor?

“…Em contrapartida, dois estudos transversais que delinearam o consumo de álcool como variá-vel dependente expuseram que a violência física pode ser preditora para o consumo de álcool. Indivíduos que sofreram maus-tratos na infância, em geral por familiares, apresentaram maiores chances de se tornarem consumidores de bebidas alcoólicas na adolescência 12,19 . Em seu estudo, Hamburger et al 19 sugerem, como justificativa, que a infância é um período do desenvolvimento em que os pais exercem grandes influencias sobre as crianças.…”

“…Em estudos epidemiológicos, a violência fí-sica aparece em posição de destaque no que se refere à saúde dos adolescentes, com maior prevalência no sexo masculino 1,3,5,9,10 , podendo estar relacionada ao ambiente doméstico ou escolar 11 . Existe maior vulnerabilidade do indivíduo a outros fatores de risco quando a violência domésti-ca é frequente e quando há vitimização durante a infância 12 . A associação entre o consumo de bebidas alcoólicas e a violência física é documentada na literatura 2,3,6 , entretanto, afim de traçar estratégias de prevenção voltadas para esses fatores de risco.…”

Relationship between trauma-related psychotic reactions and Post-traumatic stress symptoms: the mediating role of alcohol use

“…They were interviewed by our colleagues who delivered psychological service during the earthquake. Both the groups were asked to fill out the SSSP, Post-traumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS) [24] and Symptom Checklist 90-Depression (SCL-D) [25]. Cronbach alphas were deemed to be acceptable in two groups (university students α = 0.68, traumatic group α = 0.65).…”