Child maltreatment (CM) is associated with poor long-term health outcomes. However, knowledge about CM prevalence and related consequences is scarce among adults in South European countries. We examined the self-reported prevalence of five different forms of CM in a community sample of 1,200 Portuguese adults; we compared the results with similar samples from three other countries, using the same instrument. We also explored the relationship between CM and psychological symptoms. Cross-sectional data using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form and the Brief Symptom Inventory were analyzed. Moderate or severe CM exposure was self-reported by 14.7% of the sample, and 67% was exposed to more than one form of CM. Emotional neglect was the most endorsed experience, with women reporting greater emotional abuse and men reporting larger physical abuse. Physical and sexual abuse was less self-reported by Portuguese than by American or German subjects. CM exposure predicted 12.8% of the psychological distress. Emotional abuse was the strongest predictor for psychological symptoms, namely for paranoid ideation, depression, and interpersonal sensitivity. Emotional abuse overlapped with the exposure to all other CM forms, and interacted with physical abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect to predict psychological distress. Low exposure to emotional abuse was directly associated with the effects of physical abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect to predict adult psychological distress. Verbal abuse experiences were frequently reported and had the highest correlations with adult psychological distress. Our results underline the potential hurtful effects of child emotional abuse among Portuguese adults in the community. They also highlight the need to improve prevention and intervention actions to reduce exposure and consequences of CM, particularly emotional abuse.

Background/Objective: Childhood maltreatment (CM) has been associated with revictimization and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, this relation is hardly examined in South European countries, and in community samples. We tested these associations in a convenience sample of 1,200 Portuguese adults in the community. Method: Data were collected using self-report questionnaires, the Post Traumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire–Short Form (CTQ-SF). Odds ratios, logistic and hierarchical regression were used to analyze the data. Results: Exposure to CM increased more than twofold the risk of being revictimized and threefold a PTSD diagnosis. Highly prevalent traumatic events such as accidents were associated with CM. More than 30% of adults with PTSD were exposed to emotional abuse. After adjusting for demographics, emotional abuse remained a significant predictor for revictimization and PTSD, having the largest effect on the prediction of PTSD severity (β = .24). Conclusions: Findings underline the injurious potential of emotional abuse during childhood in adults in the community. More knowledge is needed about the mechanisms linking CM with further traumatic exposure and PTSD across the lifespan to better inform preventive and therapeutic actions.

Resumo Neste trabalho apresentam-se os resultados da adaptação do Questionário de Trauma de Infância -forma breve (CTQ-SF) em população portuguesa. As propriedades psicométricas do instrumentoA correspondência relativa a este artigo deverá ser enviada para: