Association of Child Maltreatment with South African Adults’ Wages: Evidence from the Cape Area Panel Study

Abstract

Child maltreatment is a prevalent public health problem in both developed and developing countries. While many studies have investigated the relationship between violence against children and health of the victims, little is known about the long term economic consequences of child maltreatment, especially in developing countries. Using data from the Cape Area Panel Study, this paper applies Heckman selection models to investigate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and young adults’ wages in South Africa. The results show that, on average, any experience of physical or emotional abuse during childhood is associated with a later 12% loss of young adults’ wages. In addition, the correlation between physical abuse and economic consequence (14%) is more significant than the relationship between emotional abuse and wages (8%) of young adults; and the higher the frequency of maltreatment, the greater the associations with wages. With respect to gender differences, wage loss due to the experience of childhood maltreatment is larger for females than males. Specifically, males’ wages are more sensitive to childhood emotional abuse, while females’ wages are more likely to be affected by childhood physical abuse. These results emphasize the importance of prioritizing investments in prevention and intervention programs to reduce the prevalence of child maltreatment and to help victims better overcome the long-term negative effect.

Early life shock and labour market outcomes: Panel data evidence from South Africa

“…The justification for the use of this variable is that it might affect the likelihood of employment participation, but an individual's earning level is unlikely to depend on family size. In addition, different studies used the number or presence of children, which is highly correlated with family size, in the selection equation to satisfy the exclusion restriction [ [70] , [71] , [72] ]. Considering the lack of tests for the validity of the instrument used and possible concerns about the justification, the study is limited to describing associations without making causal inferences.…”

The Epidemiology of Young People’s Work and Experiences of Violence in Nine Countries: Evidence from the Violence against Children Surveys

“…A study using cross-sectional data from the Egypt Demographic and Health Survey among children aged 5–17 years found that experiencing violence (physical and severe punishment) was associated with hazardous labour [ 47 ]. Longitudinal studies in South Africa, the US, the UK, Denmark, and Norway find that child maltreatment increases the risk of adverse work outcomes [ 29 , 30 , 48 , 49 , 50 ]. A systematic review of longitudinal research on child maltreatment and later work outcomes (reduced income, unemployment, lower level of job skill, and fewer assets) further underscores that that childhood experiences of maltreatment increased the risk of adverse work outcomes after accounting for family of origin socio-economic status [ 27 ].…”

“…Cohort studies in the USA [ 28 ] and Norway [ 29 ] found that children who experienced violence had lower levels of employment and earnings in adulthood compared to those who did not experience violence. Of the limited research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), a longitudinal study in Cape Town found that any experience of physical or emotional abuse during childhood was associated with a later 12% loss of wages, with larger wage losses among young women compared to men [ 30 ]. There is also evidence to suggest that childhood violence leads to poorer educational outcomes [ 31 ], which affects both access to work and wages [ 32 ].…”