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Childhood Maltreatment (childhood + maltreatment)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	52%
Psychology	33%
Humanities and Social Sciences	14%

Selected Abstracts

Childhood Maltreatment and Migraine (Part II).

HEADACHE, Issue 1 2010
Emotional Abuse as a Risk Factor for Headache Chronification
(Headache 2010;50:32-41) Objectives., To assess in a headache clinic population the relationship of childhood abuse and neglect with migraine characteristics, including type, frequency, disability, allodynia, and age of migraine onset. Background., Childhood maltreatment is highly prevalent and has been associated with recurrent headache. Maltreatment is associated with many of the same risk factors for migraine chronification, including depression and anxiety, female sex, substance abuse, and obesity. Methods., Electronic surveys were completed by patients seeking treatment in headache clinics at 11 centers across the United States and Canada. Physician-determined data for all participants included the primary headache diagnoses based on the International Classification of Headache Disorders-2 criteria, average monthly headache frequency, whether headaches transformed from episodic to chronic, and if headaches were continuous. Analysis includes all persons with migraine with aura, and migraine without aura. Questionnaire collected information on demographics, social history, age at onset of headaches, migraine-associated allodynic symptoms, headache-related disability (The Headache Impact Test-6), current depression (The Patient Health Questionnaire-9), and current anxiety (The Beck Anxiety Inventory). History and severity of childhood (<18 years) abuse (sexual, emotional, and physical) and neglect (emotional and physical) was gathered using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Results., A total of 1348 migraineurs (88% women) were included (mean age 41 years). Diagnosis of migraine with aura was recorded in 40% and chronic headache (,15 days/month) was reported by 34%. Transformation from episodic to chronic was reported by 26%. Prevalence of current depression was 28% and anxiety was 56%. Childhood maltreatment was reported as follows: physical abuse 21%, sexual abuse 25%, emotional abuse 38%, physical neglect 22%, and emotional neglect 38%. In univariate analyses, physical abuse and emotional abuse and neglect were significantly associated with chronic migraine and transformed migraine. Emotional abuse was also associated with continuous daily headache, severe headache-related disability, and migraine-associated allodynia. After adjusting for sociodemographic factors and current depression and anxiety, there remained an association between emotional abuse in childhood and both chronic (odds ratio [OR] = 1.77, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.19-2.62) and transformed migraine (OR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.25-2.85). Childhood emotional abuse was also associated with younger median age of headache onset (16 years vs 19 years, P = .0002). Conclusion., Our findings suggest that physical abuse, emotional abuse, and emotional neglect may be risk factors for development of chronic headache, including transformed migraine. The association of maltreatment and headache frequency appears to be independent of depression and anxiety, which are related to both childhood abuse and chronic daily headache. The finding that emotional abuse was associated with an earlier age of migraine onset may have implications for the role of stress responses in migraine pathophysiology. [source]

Prevalence and Impact of Childhood Maltreatment in Incarcerated Youth

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2010
Daniel Coleman
The prevalence of childhood maltreatment and the magnitude of the association of maltreatment with internalizing mental health symptoms were examined in 398 incarcerated youth. The prevalence of abuse greatly exceeded general population rates. The proportion of variance in mental health symptoms accounted for by maltreatment was small but developmentally significant. Sexual abuse is a markedly stronger predictor of internalizing mental health problems in incarcerated youth than physical abuse. Consistent with a bio-psychological model of trauma, dissociation at the time of sexual abuse was the strongest nondemographic predictor of mental health symptoms. Physical abuse was associated with more internalizing mental health problems for children from families with mental health problems and families with lower socioeconomic status. Implications for practice and research are discussed. [source]

Age of Minority Sexual Orientation Development and Risk of Childhood Maltreatment and Suicide Attempts in Women

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 4 2009
Heather L. Corliss MPH
Women with minority sexual orientations (e.g., lesbian, bisexual) are more likely than heterosexual women to report histories of childhood maltreatment and attempted suicide; however, the importance of the timing of minority sexual orientation development in contributing to this increased risk is uncertain. This study investigated relationships between self-reported ages of achieving minority sexual orientation development milestones (first awareness of same-gender attractions, disclosure of a minority sexual orientation to another person, and same-gender sexual contact), and childhood maltreatment and suicide attempt experiences in a sample of 2, 001 women recruited from multiple-community sources. Younger age of minority sexual orientation development milestones was positively linked to self-reported recall of childhood maltreatment experiences, and to a childhood suicide attempt. After adjusting for differences in maltreatment, the odds of suicide attempt attributable to younger age of sexual orientation development milestones was reduced by 50 to 65%, suggesting that maltreatment may account for about half of the elevated risk for childhood suicide attempts among women with early minority sexual orientation development. Implications for services, interventions, and further research to address maltreatment disparities for sexual minorities are discussed. [source]

Thriving as Becoming Resolute in Narratives of Women Surviving Childhood Maltreatment

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2009
Joanne M. Hall PhD
The purpose of this feminist interpretive study was to portray the experience of women thriving after childhood maltreatment (CM) through personal narratives. An interdisciplinary team conducted multiple in-depth interviews of 44 women survivors of CM who identified themselves as successful and doing well. The interviews focused on "what worked" and "what did not" with the aim of exploring aftereffects of CM; strengths and strategies; interactions helpful in overcoming abuse; and related sociopolitical contexts. Narrative analyses revealed a distinct, dynamic process of becoming resolute characterized by six dimensions that were not sequential steps but characteristics, actions, and interactions. This study offers a new understanding of the experience of women gaining solid footing in their lives, the peace of knowing the abuse is over, and power to move in an upward trajectory. [source]

Examining the Sexual Offenses of Female Juveniles: The Relevance of Childhood Maltreatment

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 4 2008
Dominique Roe-Sepowitz MSW
Research on female juvenile sex offenders is limited by small clinical samples. Little is known about the characteristics of female sexual offending and how it is related to child maltreatment. This study examines data from the case histories of 118 female juvenile sex offenders. In contrast to portrayals in previous research, this study shows that female sex offenders are not a homogeneous group. Findings also included differentiation between female juvenile sexual offenders with a history of child maltreatment and those without a history of child maltreatment. Female juvenile sex offenders who had a history of child maltreatment were more likely to have a current mental health diagnosis and experience clinical levels of anger-irritability and depression-anxiety than those without a history of child maltreatment. The impact of a history of sexual abuse for female juvenile sex offenders was found to be important with regard to higher levels of coercion of their sexual abuse victims. Important distinctions are highlighted that have implications for female-specific assessment, treatment, and prevention. [source]

Childhood Maltreatment and Antisocial Behavior: Comparison of Self-Reported and Substantiated Maltreatment

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 2 2008
Carolyn A. Smith PhD
Although accurate assessment of maltreatment is critical to understanding and interrupting its impact on the life course, comparison of different measurement approaches is rare. The goal of this study is to compare maltreatment reports from official Child Protective Services (CPS) records with retrospectively self-reported measures. Research questions address the prevalence and concordance of each type of measure, their relationship to social disadvantage, and their prediction to four antisocial outcomes in adolescence and early adulthood including arrest, self-reported violence, general offending, and illegal drug use. Data to address this comparison come from the Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS), a longitudinal panel study of 1,000 adolescents. Findings indicate that self-reported retrospective maltreatment is somewhat more prevalent (29%) than official substantiated maltreatment (21%). Among those with official reports, in young adulthood about half self-reported maltreatment, whereas 37% of those self-reporting have an official report. In general, both sources suggest that maltreatment is associated with a higher prevalence of antisocial behavior. It is not clear that combining sources of information improves prediction. [source]

Childhood Maltreatment and Migraine (Part II).

Predicting juvenile delinquency: The nexus of childhood maltreatment, depression and bipolar disorder

CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 4 2009
Christopher A. Mallett
Background,It is important to identify and provide preventative interventions for youth who are most at risk for offending behaviour, but the connection between early childhood or adolescent experiences and later delinquency adjudication is complicated. Aim,To test for associations between specified mental disorders or maltreatment and later delinquency adjudication. Method,Participants were a random sample of youth before the juvenile courts in two Northeast Ohio counties in the USA (n = 555) over a 4-year time frame (2003 to 2006). Results,Logistic regression analysis identified a lifetime diagnosis of depression and/or bipolar disorder to be predictive of later youth delinquency adjudication, but found that childhood maltreatment (or involvement with the child welfare system) made delinquency outcomes less likely. Implications,Study implications are discussed as they relate to professionals working in the fields of child welfare, social work, mental health and juvenile justice. Awareness of risks associated with maltreatment may have led to effective interventions, while there may be less awareness of risks from depression in young people; however, studies tend not to take account of intervention variables. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Understanding the "ghosts in the nursery" of pregnant women experiencing domestic violence: Prenatal maternal representations and histories of childhood maltreatment,

INFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 4 2010
Johanna C. Malone
Selma Fraiberg and colleagues (1975) conceptualized the "ghosts in the nursery" as experiences from a mother's past that influenced her ability to form a warm and attuned relationship with her child. Contemporary infant mental health interventions often ask the mother to reflect on her own history of attachment relationships to gain insight into as well as to strengthen her developing relationship with her child. This study investigated the association between a mother's history of childhood maltreatment (CM) and her subsequent prenatal maternal representation during the third trimester of pregnancy. Controlling for domestic violence (DV), distorted prenatal representations were associated with higher rates of self-reported childhood physical neglect. In addition, DV moderated the relationship between representations and CM, such that women who were exposed to DV during pregnancy and had distorted prenatal representations were least likely to report childhood physical and sexual abuse. Implications are discussed in relation to infant mental health interventions which rely on a parent's ability to psychologically access and reflect on childhood histories to more sensitively parent her own child. Selma Fraiberg y colegas (1975) definió el concepto de "fantasmas en el cuarto de los niños" como experiencias del pasado de las madres que ejercen influencia en la habilidad de ella para formarse una cálida y afinada relación con su infante. A menudo, las intervenciones contemporáneas de la salud mental infantil les piden a las madres que reflexionen sobre su propia historia de relaciones afectivas con el fin de lograr un mejor conocimiento y al mismo tiempo hacer más fuerte la relación que están desarrollando con sus hijos. Este estudio investigó la asociación entre la historia de una madre que tuvo una niñez llena de maltratos (CM) y su subsiguiente representación maternal prenatal durante el tercer trimestre del embarazo. Considerando por medio del experimento de control la variable de la violencia doméstica, (DV), las representaciones prenatales distorsionadas se asociaron con puntajes más altos de la auto-reportada negligencia física en la niñez. Es más, la violencia doméstica (DV) sirvió para moderar la relación entre las representaciones y el maltrato en la niñez (CM), a tal punto de que las mujeres que habían estado expuestas a la violencia doméstica (DV) durante el embarazo y tenían representaciones prenatales distorsionadas fueron las menos propensas a reportar el abuso físico y sexual en la niñez. Se discuten las implicaciones en relación con las intervenciones de la salud mental infantil que dependen de la habilidad de la madre de acceder a y reflexionar sobre sus historias de la niñez, sicológicamente, con el fin de criar a su propio infante con una mayor sensibilidad. Selma Fraiberg et collègues (1975) conceptualisa les "fantômes dans la crèche" en tant qu'expériences d'un passé de la mère qui ont influencé sa capacité à former une relation chaleureuse et sensible avec son enfant. Les interventions contemporaines de santé mentale du nourrisson demandent souvent à la mère de faire un effort de réflexion sur sa propre histoire de relations d'attachement afin d'arriver à mieux connaître sa relation qui se développe avec son enfant, et aussi de la renforcer. Cette étude s'est penchée sur l'association entre l'histoire de maltraitance durant l'enfance de la mère (abrégé CM en anglais) et sa représentation maternelle prénatale ultérieure durant le troisième trimestre de la grossesse. Avec un contrôle pour la violence conjugale (abrégée DV en anglais), les représentations prénatales déformées étaient liées à des taux plus élevés de négligence physique durant l'enfance auto-rapportées. De plus, la violence conjugale (DV) modérait la relation entre les représentations et la maltraitance durant l'enfance (CM), d'une telle manière que les femmes qui ont été exposées à la violence conjugale (DV) durant la grossesse et qui faisaient preuve de représentations prénatales déformées étaient les moins à même de signaler une maltraitance physique et des abus sexuels. Les implications sont discutées en relation aux interventions de santé mentale du nourrisson qui reposent que la capacité d'un parent à accéder psychologiquement aux histoires de son enfance et à y réfléchir de fa,on à élever son propre enfant de plus sensiblement. Selma Fraiberg und Kollegen (1975) konzeptualisiert die "Gespenster im Kinderzimmer", als Erfahrungen aus der Vergangenheit der Mutter, die ihre Fähigkeit, eine warme und angemessene Beziehung zu ihrem Kind aufzubauen. Zeitgemäße Interventionen der seelische Gesundheit von Kleinkindern fragen Mütter oft nach ihrer eigenen Geschichte von Bindungsbeziehungen, um einen Einblick zu bekommen, damit die sich entwickelnde Beziehung zu ihrem Kind gestärkt werden kann. Die vorliegende Studie untersuchte den Zusammenhang zwischen mütterlichen Misshandlungserfahrungen (CM) und deren späteren Schilderungen im dritten Trimenon ihrer eigenen Schwangerschaft. Maßgeblich für häusliche Gewalt (DV) war eine verzerrte Darstellung, die mit einer höheren Rate von selbst berichteter körperlicher Verwahrlosung assoziiert war. Darüber hinaus beeinflusste DV die Beziehung zwischen den Vorstellungen und den CM, so dass Frauen, die während der Schwangerschaft DV ausgesetzt waren, und verzerrten Darstellungen hatten mit großer Wahrscheinlichkeit von körperlichen und sexuellen Missbrauch berichteten. Die Auswirkungen werden in Bezug auf Interventionen der psychischen Gesundheit von Kindern diskutiert, die die elterliche Fähigkeit, psychologische Zusammenhänge zu verstehen und darüber hinaus zu Reflexion über die eigenen Kindheitsgeschichten anregen, damit die Eltern sensibler auf ihr eigenes Kind reagieren können. [source]

Pathways mediating sexual abuse and eating disturbance in children

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EATING DISORDERS, Issue 3 2001
Stephen Wonderlich
Abstract Objective To examine the relationship between childhood maltreatment and eating disorders in a sample of children. Method Twenty 10,15-year-old female children who were receiving treatment following reported childhood sexual abuse and 20 age-matched controls were compared on a series of measures assessing eating disorder behaviors, body image concerns, substance use, mood, impulsive behavior, and self-concept. Results Sexually abused children reported higher levels of eating disorder behaviors, impulsive behaviors, and drug abuse than controls. Furthermore, behavioral impulsivity provided the strongest mediational effect between a history of childhood sexual abuse and purging and restrictive dieting behavior. Drug use proved to be a significant secondary mediator of the childhood sexual abuse eating disorder behavior association. Discussion These data support the hypothesis that childhood sexual abuse is related to disordered eating in children, and extend similar findings that have been previously reported with adults. Behavioral impulsivity and drug use appear to be significant mechanisms that influence eating disorder behavior following childhood sexual abuse. © 2001 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 29: 270,279, 2001. [source]

MAOA Alters the Effects of Heavy Drinking and Childhood Physical Abuse on Risk for Severe Impulsive Acts of Violence Among Alcoholic Violent Offenders

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 5 2010
Roope Tikkanen
Background:, A polymorphism in the promoter region of the monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA) has been shown to alter the effect of persistent drinking and childhood maltreatment on the risk for violent and antisocial behaviors. These findings indicate that MAOA could contribute to inter-individual differences in stress resiliency. Methods:, Recidivism in severe violent crimes was assessed after 8 years of nonincarcerated follow-up in a male sample of 174 impulsive Finnish alcoholic violent offenders, the majority of whom exhibited antisocial (ASPD) or borderline personality disorder (BPD) or both. We examined whether MAOA genotype alters the effects of heavy drinking and childhood physical abuse (CPA) on the risk for committing impulsive recidivistic violent crimes. Results:, Logistic regression analyses showed that both heavy drinking and CPA were significant independent predictors of recidivism in violent behavior (OR 5.2, p = 0.004 and OR 5.3, p = 0.003) among offenders having the high MAOA activity genotype (MAOA-H), but these predictors showed no effect among offenders carrying the low MAOA activity genotype (MAOA-L). Conclusion:, Carriers of the MAOA-H allele have a high risk to commit severe recidivistic impulsive violent crimes after exposure to heavy drinking and CPA. [source]

The Role of Youth Problem Behaviors in the Path From Child Abuse and Neglect to Prostitution: A Prospective Examination

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, Issue 1 2010
Helen W. Wilson
Behaviors beginning in childhood or adolescence may mediate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and involvement in prostitution. This paper examines 5 potential mediators: early sexual initiation, running away, juvenile crime, school problems, and early drug use. Using a prospective cohort design, abused and neglected children (ages 0,11) with cases processed during 1967,1971 were matched with nonabused, nonneglected children and followed into young adulthood. Data are from in-person interviews at approximately age 29 and arrest records through 1994. Structural equation modeling tested path models. Results indicated that victims of child abuse and neglect were at increased risk for all problem behaviors except drug use. In the full model, only early sexual initiation remained significant as a mediator in the pathway from child abuse and neglect to prostitution. Findings were generally consistent for physical and sexual abuse and neglect. These findings suggest that interventions to reduce problem behaviors among maltreated children may also reduce their risk for prostitution later in life. [source]

Attachment organization, emotion regulation, and expectations of support in a clinical sample of women with childhood abuse histories

JOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 3 2008
Marylene Cloitre
Despite the consistent documentation of an association between compromised attachment and clinical disorders, there are few empirical studies exploring factors that may mediate this relationship. This study evaluated the potential roles of emotion regulation and social support expectations in linking adult attachment classification and psychiatric impairment in 109 women with a history of childhood abuse and a variety of diagnosed psychiatric disorders. Path analysis confirmed that insecure attachment was associated with psychiatric impairment through the pathways of poor emotion regulation capacities and diminished expectations of support. Results suggest the relevance of attachment theory in understanding the myriad psychiatric outcomes associated with childhood maltreatment and in particular, the focal roles that emotion regulation and interpersonal expectations may play. [source]

Prevalence and Impact of Childhood Maltreatment in Incarcerated Youth

Age of Minority Sexual Orientation Development and Risk of Childhood Maltreatment and Suicide Attempts in Women

Thriving as Becoming Resolute in Narratives of Women Surviving Childhood Maltreatment

Research Review: The neurobiology and genetics of maltreatment and adversity

THE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 10 2010
Eamon McCrory
The neurobiological mechanisms by which childhood maltreatment heightens vulnerability to psychopathology remain poorly understood. It is likely that a complex interaction between environmental experiences (including poor caregiving) and an individual's genetic make-up influence neurobiological development across infancy and childhood, which in turn sets the stage for a child's psychological and emotional development. This review provides a concise synopsis of those studies investigating the neurobiological and genetic factors associated with childhood maltreatment and adversity. We first provide an overview of the neuroendocrine findings, drawing from animal and human studies. These studies indicate an association between early adversity and atypical development of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis stress response, which can predispose to psychiatric vulnerability in adulthood. We then review the neuroimaging findings of structural and functional brain differences in children and adults who have experienced childhood maltreatment. These studies offer evidence of several structural differences associated with early stress, most notably in the corpus callosum in children and the hippocampus in adults; functional studies have reported atypical activation of several brain regions, including decreased activity of the prefrontal cortex. Next we consider studies that suggest that the effect of environmental adversity may be conditional on an individual's genotype. We also briefly consider the possible role that epigenetic mechanisms might play in mediating the impact of early adversity. Finally we consider several ways in which the neurobiological and genetic research may be relevant to clinical practice and intervention. [source]

Giving voice to experiences: parental maltreatment of black children in the context of societal racism

CHILD & FAMILY SOCIAL WORK, Issue 4 2002
Claudia Bernard
ABSTRACT This paper seeks to explore the ways in which black children who have been maltreated within their families come to voice to tell their stories. A discussion of black children's recovery from maltreatment necessitates understanding how they interpret and name their experiences as abusive. Research indicates that while many factors mediate the effects of abuse on children's development, telling your story about childhood trauma is critical in the healing process for promoting psychological well-being. However, what does the naming and speaking of trauma entail for black children when the broader context of their lived realities is embedded in racism that confers on them a stigmatized status? Where black children's lived experiences encompass the complexity of societal racism as a mutually reinforcing and contradictory reality in their lives, their capacity to name the maltreatment they experience will be particularly problematic. Essentially, parents' issues silence children and can encourage them to block out painful emotions, ultimately putting their emotional and psychological well-being at risk. Taking race and gender as benchmarks for analysis, the complexities involved in giving voice to childhood maltreatment are discussed to consider how these dynamics contribute to black children's resilience and adaptive behaviours in the aftermath of abuse. [source]