A new study led by researchers at the University of California has found that exposure to childhood abuse or neglect can cause many mental health problems, according to Neuroscience News, citing the American Journal of Psychiatry.
The research seeks to examine the causal effects of child maltreatment on mental health by taking into account other genetic and environmental risk factors, such as family history of mental illness and socioeconomic disadvantage.
Quasi-experimental studies
In the first study of its kind, researchers analyzed 34 quasi-experimental studies involving more than 54,000 people. Quasi-experimental studies can better identify cause and effect in observational data, using specialized samples (such as identical twins) or innovative statistical techniques to exclude other risk factors.
For example, in identical twin samples, if the abused twin has mental health problems but the non-abused twin does not, the link cannot be due to shared genes or family environment.
consistent causal effects
Across 34 studies, researchers found small effects of child maltreatment on a range of mental health problems, including internalizing disorders (such as depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide attempt), externalizing disorders (such as alcohol and drug use, ADHD, and behavior problems) and psychosis. These effects were consistent regardless of the method used or the way in which maltreatment and mental health were measured.
1 in 8 children
The results indicate that preventing eight cases of child abuse would prevent one person from developing mental health problems. Researchers defined childhood abuse as any physical, sexual or emotional abuse or neglect before the age of 18.
“Child maltreatment is known to be associated with mental health problems, but it was not clear whether this relationship was causal, or could be better explained by other risk factors,” said researcher Dr. Jessie Baldwin, a professor of psychology and language sciences at UCLA. .
unemployment and premature deaths
This study provides robust evidence to suggest that child maltreatment has small causal effects on mental health problems. Although small, the effects of such abuse can have far-reaching consequences, given that mental health problems predict a range of poor outcomes, such as unemployment, physical health problems and premature deaths.
“Interventions to prevent maltreatment are essential for childcare as well as for preventing long-term suffering and financial costs,” explains Dr. Baldwin. [باهظة] due to mental illness.