Abstract
A history of childhood abuse has been linked to serious and long-lasting problems in adulthood. We developed two theoretical models concerning how early adverse experiences affect health in adulthood, and we tested the empirical fit of the two models in a population-based representative sample of Canadian adults (N = 25,113) using a structural equation modelling (SEM) technique, path analysis. The first model included direct pathways by which a history of three types of childhood abuse—exposure to intimate partner violence, physical abuse, and sexual abuse—affected adult physical and mental health, as well as indirect pathways by which perceived social support and everyday life stress acted as mediators of these associations. The second model included only indirect pathways and tested mediating effects. Global statistics indicated that both models were a good fit to the data, and local statistics supported the hypothesized associations between independent, dependent, and mediator variables.
Highlights
Child abuse can be defined as any form of physical, emotional/psychological, and/or sexual act of mistreatment or lack of care that results in emotional harm and/or physical injury to a child or youth under the age of 18 [1]
We focused on three adverse childhood experiences (ACEs): Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV), physical abuse, and sexual abuse
In addition to questions assessing adult self-rated physical and mental health, and perceived stress and social support, the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)–Mental Health included a set of questions designed to investigate three types of child abuse; namely, exposure to IPV, physical abuse, and sexual abuse
Summary
Child abuse can be defined as any form of physical, emotional/psychological, and/or sexual act of mistreatment or lack of care that results in emotional harm and/or physical injury to a child or youth under the age of 18 [1]. It includes all types of abuse, as well as the neglect of physical, emotional, and educational needs of the child, inadequate supervision, and the exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV). More than 35% of children worldwide are subject to emotional/psychological abuse and to neglect [3], which is the most common form of child maltreatment worldwide. As reported in a recent Annual Research Review [7], the association between a history of childhood abuse and poor psychological and physical functioning in adulthood is well documented in both retrospective and
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