Multiple maltreatment experiences and adolescent behavior problems: Adolescents' perspectives

Abstract

By adolescence, appraisal of one's past life experience becomes critical to the stage-salient issue of identity formation. This study examined adolescents' perceptions of their maltreatment experiences. It scrutinized the combined and unique contribution of five maltreatment types (i.e., physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, neglect, and exposure to family violence) to variance in adolescent adjustment. It was predicted that these maltreatment types would account for significant variance in adjustment when controlling for the context variables of age, sex, socioeconomic status, IQ, and stressful life events. Adolescents (N = 160, aged 11–17) were randomly selected from the open caseload of a child protection agency. Participants completed global severity ratings regarding their experiences of the five types of maltreatment, as well as a battery of measures assessing self- and caretaker-reported externalizing and internalizing symptomatology. The youths' maltreatment ratings significantly predicted self-reported adjustment, even when controlling for all context variables. Psychological maltreatment was the most predictively potent maltreatment type, and enhanced the predictive utility of other maltreatment types. Significant sex differences in the sequelae of perceived maltreatment were evident. Also, interactions between youths' ratings and those obtained from CPS files were detected. The findings were consistent with recent research in child maltreatment, and contribute to our understanding of developmental psychopathology among adolescents.

Maltreatment experiences and depression in adolescents: The moderating effect of psychosocial functioning

“…Emotional abuse and neglect, according to literature, due to the direct attack that is made to the child or adolescent's self-esteem, are identified as strong predictors of internalizing adverse consequences, such as depression (Kim & Cicchetti, 2006;McGee et al, 1997;Rose & Abramson, 1992). In this study, emotional abuse and emotional neglect were the best predictors of depressive symptomatology, i.e.…”

“…As emotional abuse provides explicitly negative information to the victim being a direct attack to his/her self-esteem, it has often been considered the most important type of abuse, which leads mainly to the development of internalizing problems (McGee, Wolfe, & Wilson, 1997;Rose & Abramson, 1992), for example, depression (Kim & Cicchetti, 2006). However, according to Kaufman (1991), it is the physical abuse that is associated with higher levels of depressive symptomatology.…”

Childhood maltreatment is associated with altered fear circuitry and increased internalizing symptoms by late adolescence

“…Some evidence suggests that maltreatment may impart greater risk for the development of internalizing symptoms in females than in males (e.g., refs. [7][8][9]. This differential risk could account, in part, for the higher incidence of internalizing problems in females than in males (10,11).…”

Problemas de conducta de una muestra de menores institucionalizados con antecedentes de maltrato

“…Estos datos hay que situarlos en la polémica suscitada en la literatura entre los autores que defienden que, en función del subtipo de maltrato recibido, se provocan unas consecuencias específicas (de Paúl y Arruabarrena, 1995;Hoffman-Plotkin y Twentyman, 1984;McGee et al, 1997;Mullen et al, 1996;Vissing et al, 1991), frente a aquellos autores que encuentran que el efecto del maltrato es multidimensional y global, independientemente del subtipo de maltrato experimentado (por ejemplo, Prino y Peyrot, 1994). En este sentido, una hipótesis altamente defendida es aquella que relaciona el maltrato físico con las conductas desadaptativas externalizadas y el maltrato por abandono con conductas desadaptativas internalizadas (Hoffman-Plotkin y Twentyman, 1984;Wodarski et al, 1990), conclusión no siempre avalada por los datos empíricos (Brown, 1984;de Paúl y Arruabarrena, 1995;Wodarski, Kurtz, Gaudin, y Howing, 1990).…”

“…Su análisis indicó que aunque cada tipo de maltrato estaba relacionado con unos efectos específicos, el abuso emocional y el físico daban lugar a problemas psicosociales generalizados. En este sentido, algunos trabajos subrayan la importancia del maltrato emocional como generador de problemas de conducta, dificultades sociales, baja autoestima, conducta suicida, problemas psiquiátricos y hospitalizaciones (McGee, Wolfe, y Wilson, 1997;Mullen, Martin, Anderson, Romans, y Herbison, 1996;Vissing, Strauss, Gelles, y Harrop, 1991).…”