Dataset Information

The association between child maltreatment and mental disorders in the Australian Child Maltreatment Study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To examine the associations between experiences of child maltreatment and mental disorders in the Australian population.

Design

Population-representative survey conducted by computer-assisted telephone interviewing.

Setting, participants

Australian residents aged 16 years and older.

Main outcome measures

Mental disorder diagnoses of lifetime major depressive disorder, current alcohol use disorder (mild, moderate and severe), current generalised anxiety disorder and current post-traumatic stress disorder.

Results

More than one in three Australians (3606/8503 surveyed participants; 38.0%; 95% CI, 36.7-39.3%) met the diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder. The prevalence of mental disorders in non-maltreated participants was 21.6% (95% CI, 19.9-23.3%; n = 851). This increased to 36.2% (95% CI, 33.5-38.9%; n = 764) for those who experienced a single type of maltreatment and 54.8% (95% CI, 52.6-56.9%; n = 1991) for participants who experienced multi-type maltreatment. Compared with non-maltreated Australians, maltreated participants had about three times the odds of any mental disorder (odds ratio [OR], 2.82; 95% CI, 2.47-3.22), generalised anxiety disorder (OR, 3.14; 95% CI, 2.48-3.97), major depressive disorder (OR, 3.19; 95% CI, 2.68-3.80) and severe alcohol use disorder (OR, 2.62; 95% CI, 1.83-3.76), and almost five times the odds of post-traumatic stress disorder (OR, 4.60; 95% CI, 3.00-7.07). Associations between experiences of child maltreatment and mental disorders were strongest for sexual abuse, emotional abuse and multi-type maltreatment. The strength of the associations did not differ by gender. Adjustment for childhood and current financial hardship and for current socio-economic status did not significantly attenuate the associations.

Conclusions

Mental disorders are significantly more likely to occur in individuals who experience child maltreatment, particularly multi-type maltreatment. Prevention of child maltreatment provides an opportunity to substantially reduce the prevalence of mental illness and improve the health of the Australian population.

SUBMITTER: Scott JG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10952950 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

The association between child maltreatment and mental disorders in the Australian Child Maltreatment Study.

Scott James G JG Malacova Eva E Mathews Ben B Haslam Divna M DM Pacella Rosana R Higgins Daryl J DJ Meinck Franziska F Dunne Michael P MP Finkelhor David D Erskine Holly E HE Lawrence David M DM Thomas Hannah J HJ

The Medical journal of Australia 20230401

<h4>Objectives</h4>To examine the associations between experiences of child maltreatment and mental disorders in the Australian population.<h4>Design</h4>Population-representative survey conducted by computer-assisted telephone interviewing.<h4>Setting, participants</h4>Australian residents aged 16 years and older.<h4>Main outcome measures</h4>Mental disorder diagnoses of lifetime major depressive disorder, current alcohol use disorder (mild, moderate and severe), current generalised anxiety dis ...[more]

PMID: 37004186

Similar Datasets

Project description:ObjectivesTo examine associations between child maltreatment and health service use, both overall, by type and by the number of types of maltreatment reported.Design, settingCross-sectional, retrospective survey using the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire-R2: Adapted Version (Australian Child Maltreatment Study); computer-assisted mobile telephone interviews using random digit dialling, Australia, 9 April - 11 October 2021.ParticipantsAustralians aged 16 years or more. The target sample size was 8500 respondents: 3500 people aged 16-24 years and 1000 respondents each from the five age groups (25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65 years or more).Main outcome measuresSelf-reported health service use during the past twelve months: hospital admissions, length of stay, and reasons for admission; and numbers of consultations with health care professionals, overall and by type. Associations between maltreatment and health service use are reported as odds ratios adjusted for age group, gender, socio-economic status, financial hardship (childhood and current), and geographic remoteness.ResultsA total of 8503 participants completed the survey. Respondents who had experienced child maltreatment were significantly more likely than those who had not to report a hospital admission during the preceding twelve months (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16-1.66), particularly admission with a mental disorder (aOR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.03-5.6). The likelihood of six or more visits to general practitioners (aOR, 2.37; 95% CI, 1.87-3.02) or of a consultation with a mental health nurse (aOR, 2.67; 95% CI, 1.75-4.06), psychologist (aOR, 2.40; 95% CI, 2.00-2.88), or psychiatrist (aOR, 3.02; 95% CI, 2.25-4.04) were each higher for people who reported maltreatment during childhood. People who reported three or more maltreatment types were generally most likely to report greater health service use.ConclusionsChild maltreatment has a major impact on health service use. Early, targeted interventions are vital, not only for supporting children directly, but also for their longer term wellbeing and reducing their health system use throughout life.

Project description:ObjectivesTo describe the aims, design, methodology, and respondent sample representativeness of the Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS).Design, settingCross-sectional, retrospective survey; computer-assisted mobile telephone interviewing using random digit dialling (computer-generated), Australia, 9 April - 11 October 2021.ParticipantsPeople aged 16 years or more. The target sample size was 8500 respondents: 3500 people aged 16-24 years and 1000 respondents each from five further age groups (25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65 years or more).Main outcome measuresPrimary outcomes: Emotional abuse, neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, exposure to domestic violence during childhood, assessed with the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire-R2 Adapted Version (Australian Child Maltreatment Study).Secondary outcomesselected mental disorder diagnoses (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, MINI), selected physical health conditions, health risk behaviours, health service use.ResultsThe demographic characteristics of the ACMS sample were similar to those of the Australian population in 2016 with respect to gender, Indigenous status, region and remoteness category of residence, and marital status, but larger proportions of participants were born in Australia, lived in areas of higher socio-economic status, had tertiary qualifications, and had income greater than $1250 per week. Population weights were derived to adjust for these differences. Associations between the number of calls required to recruit participants and maltreatment rates and health outcomes were not statistically significant.ConclusionsThe ACMS provides the first reliable estimates of the prevalence of each type of child maltreatment in Australia. These estimates, and those of associated mental health and health risk behaviours reported in this supplement can inform policy and practice initiatives for reducing the prevalence of child maltreatment and its consequences. Our benchmark study also provides baseline data for repeated waves of the ACMS that will assess the effectiveness of these initiatives.

Project description:IntroductionChild maltreatment (physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect and exposure to domestic violence) is widely understood to be associated with multiple mental health disorders, physical health problems and health risk behaviours throughout life. However, Australia lacks fundamental evidence about the prevalence and characteristics of child maltreatment, its associations with mental disorders and physical health, and the associated burden of disease. These evidence gaps impede the development of public health strategies to better prevent and respond to child maltreatment. The aims of this research are to generate the first comprehensive population-based national data on the prevalence of child maltreatment in Australia, identify associations with mental disorders and physical health conditions and other adverse consequences, estimate attributable burden of disease and indicate targeted areas for future optimal public health prevention strategies.Methods and analysisThe Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS) is a nationwide, cross-sectional study of Australia's population aged 16 years and over. A survey of approximately 10 000 Australians will capture retrospective self-reported data on the experience in childhood of all five types of maltreatment (physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect and exposure to domestic violence). A customised, multimodule survey instrument has been designed to obtain information including: the prevalence and characteristics of these experiences; diagnostic screening of common mental health disorders; physical health; health risk behaviours and health service utilisation. The survey will be administered in March-November 2021 to a random sample of the nationwide population, recruited through mobile phone numbers. Participants will be surveyed using computer-assisted telephone interviews, conducted by trained interviewers from the Social Research Centre, an agency with extensive experience in studies of health and adversity. Rigorous protocols protect the safety of both participants and interviewers, and comply with all ethical and legal requirements. Analysis will include descriptive statistics reporting the prevalence of individual and multitype child maltreatment, multiple logistic and linear regression analyses to determine associations with mental disorders and physical health problems. We will calculate the population attributable fractions of these putative outcomes to enable an estimation of the disease burden attributable to child maltreatment.Ethics and disseminationThe study has been approved by the Queensland University of Technology Human Research Ethics Committee (#1900000477, 16 August 2019). Results will be published to the scientific community in peer-reviewed journals, scientific meetings and through targeted networks. Findings and recommendations will be shared with government policymakers and community and organisational stakeholders through diverse engagement activities, a dedicated Advisory Board and a systematic knowledge translation strategy. Results will be communicated to the public through an organised media strategy and the ACMS website.

Project description:BackgroundPersons with mental disorders are at a higher risk than the general population for the subsequent development of certain medical conditions.MethodsWe used a population-based cohort from Danish national registries that included data on more than 5.9 million persons born in Denmark from 1900 through 2015 and followed them from 2000 through 2016, for a total of 83.9 million person-years. We assessed 10 broad types of mental disorders and 9 broad categories of medical conditions (which encompassed 31 specific conditions). We used Cox regression models to calculate overall hazard ratios and time-dependent hazard ratios for pairs of mental disorders and medical conditions, after adjustment for age, sex, calendar time, and previous mental disorders. Absolute risks were estimated with the use of competing-risks survival analyses.ResultsA total of 698,874 of 5,940,299 persons (11.8%) were identified as having a mental disorder. The median age of the total population was 32.1 years at entry into the cohort and 48.7 years at the time of the last follow-up. Persons with a mental disorder had a higher risk than those without such disorders with respect to 76 of 90 pairs of mental disorders and medical conditions. The median hazard ratio for an association between a mental disorder and a medical condition was 1.37. The lowest hazard ratio was 0.82 for organic mental disorders and the broad category of cancer (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 0.84), and the highest was 3.62 for eating disorders and urogenital conditions (95% CI, 3.11 to 4.22). Several specific pairs showed a reduced risk (e.g., schizophrenia and musculoskeletal conditions). Risks varied according to the time since the diagnosis of a mental disorder. The absolute risk of a medical condition within 15 years after a mental disorder was diagnosed varied from 0.6% for a urogenital condition among persons with a developmental disorder to 54.1% for a circulatory disorder among those with an organic mental disorder.ConclusionsMost mental disorders were associated with an increased risk of a subsequent medical condition; hazard ratios ranged from 0.82 to 3.62 and varied according to the time since the diagnosis of the mental disorder. (Funded by the Danish National Research Foundation and others; COMO-GMC ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03847753.).

Project description:AimsThere is evidence that child maltreatment is associated with problematic alcohol use later in life. However, previous epidemiological studies that have examined the link between child maltreatment and adult problematic alcohol use have not considered ethnic differences. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between child maltreatment and adult problematic alcohol use among six ethnic groups in the Netherlands, in a large, urban sample.MethodsThis study used baseline data from the Healthy Life in an Urban Setting (HELIUS) study: a large-scale, multi-ethnic prospective cohort study conducted in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Child maltreatment, current problematic alcohol use and several potential confounders (e.g. parental alcohol use) were assessed in participants (N = 23 356) of Dutch, South-Asian Surinamese, African Surinamese, Ghanaian, Turkish and Moroccan origin. With logistic regression analyses, we examined effect modification by ethnicity on the association between child maltreatment and problematic alcohol use. Furthermore, we explored effect modification by ethnicity for specific types of child maltreatment, namely: physical, sexual and psychological abuse and emotional neglect.ResultsEffect modification by ethnicity was present. Stronger associations between child maltreatment and problematic alcohol use were found in all ethnic minority groups compared to the Dutch reference group. Particularly strong associations between all four types of child maltreatment and alcohol use problems were found for the Moroccan origin group.ConclusionsThis study adds to a growing body of evidence that child maltreatment is associated with problematic alcohol use in adulthood. In addition, our findings indicate that ethnicity impacts this relationship. Although problematic alcohol use was more prevalent in the Dutch origin group, associations with child maltreatment were stronger in ethnic minority groups. Future studies on child maltreatment and alcohol use problems should also examine ethnic disparities and should further unravel how these disparities can be explained.

Dataset Information

The association between child maltreatment and mental disorders in the Australian Child Maltreatment Study.

Objectives

Design

Setting, participants

Main outcome measures

Results

Conclusions

Publications

The association between child maltreatment and mental disorders in the Australian Child Maltreatment Study.

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