Multi-type Maltreatment in Childhood and Psychological Adjustment in Adolescence: Questionnaire Study Among Adolescents in Western Herzegovina Canton

Abstract

Most third-grade high-school students in Western Herzegovina Canton were exposed to multi-type maltreatment in childhood, regardless of the war experience. Emotional and physical abuse were most frequently combined forms of maltreatment. Sociodemographic and family characteristics and exposure to some forms of abuse were significant predictors of exposure to other forms of abuse. Exposure to maltreatment in childhood predicted difficulties in psychological adjustment in adolescence.

Multi-type Childhood Abuse, Strategies of Coping, and Psychological Adaptations in Young Adults

“…Neglect, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse were the types of maltreatment most strongly related to trauma symptomatology and self-depreciation. This supports the findings of some studies (1,4,(48)(49)(50)(51)(52) that emotional abuse is associated with numerous difficulties in psychological adaptation. The present study shows that the consequences of neglect are as grave as those of other types of abuse.…”

“…It is possible that participants had been exposed not exclusively to neglect, but also to other types of abuse, the consequences of which were somatic symptoms and problems in sexual functioning. Previous studies have shown an association between witnessing family violence and anxiety, as well as between depression and trauma symptoms (4,58). However, we did not detect an association between witnessing family violence and trauma symptoms in our population.…”

“…There is a high degree of overlap between adults' reports of sexual abuse, physical abuse, psychological maltreatment, neglect, and witnessing family violence (1)(2)(3)(4). These problems tend to occur together.…”

Anxiety and/or Depression in 10–15-Year-Olds Investigated by Child Welfare in Canada

“…In previous analyses of depression and various types of childhood maltreatment involving adult and school samples, the associations with emotional maltreatment were found to be the strongest [20,21]. In contrast, in retrospective studies depression has been most strongly associated with either sexual abuse (community sample) [22], physical abuse (middle-aged women insured by a health plan) [23], or neglect (sample of women in primary care practice) [24].…”

The physician's role in recognizing physical abuse of children

“…A survey conducted in Croatia, in the framework of research on the intergenerational transmission of abuse in students at the University of Zagreb, showed that out of 1146 students, 93% of them experienced at least one form of physical violence from their parents in their family before the age of 18 (10). 52% of respondents who participated in a study conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the area of the West Herzegovina County, were exposed to some form of physical abuse by the age of 14 (11). These results should always be seen through the prism of fear of recognition, even though the survey was anonymous (12).…”