Socio-political context as determinant of childhood maltreatment: a population-based study among women and men in East and West Germany

Abstract

Aim Being subjected to childhood maltreatment has devastating long-term adverse effects and is a major risk factor for mental health problems in adult life. There is empirical support that socio-political factors can be risk factors for childhood maltreatment. Here we examine whether socio-political context predicts self-rated childhood maltreatment in a sample of the German population. Methods Data were drawn from surveys of representative samples of the East and West German population, including participants born 1980 or earlier (5836 participants; 3146 women). Childhood maltreatment was assessed using the Childhood Trauma Screener, the German short screening version of the childhood trauma questionnaire. To examine whether socio-political context is a predictor of childhood maltreatment in women and men, we conducted logistic regression analyses. Results We found that in women, socio-political context (West Germany) significantly predicted childhood maltreatment (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] 1.7 [1.2–2.5], 1.6 [1.1–2.3], 2.5 [1.6–4.1] and 1.8 [1.3–2.5] for emotional neglect, and emotional, physical and sexual violence, respectively). In men, the socio-political context (West Germany) was a predictor of physical and sexual violence (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] 1.8 [1.2–2.7] and 2.5 [1.4–4.5]), respectively. Concerning emotional neglect and violence, socio-political context was not a significant predictor in men. The examination of differential item functioning revealed that our results could not be attributed to differential response behaviour between East and West Germans caused by item bias. Conclusions The results suggest that socio-political context is an important determinant to consider when examining childhood maltreatment. Future research should continue to focus on risk and protective factors at the societal level, such as legal frameworks addressing gender equality and child protection laws, to create further evidence for population-wide prevention strategies ensuring safe, nurturing and thriving environments for children and families.

Adverse childhood experiences growing up in East or West Germany or abroad

“…Our results regarding sexual abuse in East and West Germany are in line with the findings of Schötensack et al ( 33 ) and Ulke et al ( 32 ). Sexual abuse was reported more frequently in the age cohorts 1946–1989.…”

“…Studies already show the socio-political context as a determinant of child abuse ( 32 , 33 ). However, our study also included individuals who did not spend their childhood and adolescence in Germany and was therefore considered a comparison group independent of German history.…”

Geschlechts- und regionalspezifische Unterschiede von Kindesvernachlässigung und Gewalt vor der deutschen Wiedervereinigung. Ergebnisse aus GESA, einem Multi-Kohorten Konsortium

“…Aufgrund der beiden regionalen Stichproben bleibt offen, ob unsere Ergebnisse tatsächlich ein Ost-West-Muster, oder doch lokale Gegebenheiten widerspiegeln. Allerdings zeigen die ersten Ergebnisse der bundeswei-ten Studie ein ähnliches Muster mit weniger berichteten Fällen von Kindesvernachlässigung und Gewalt in den Neuen Bundesländern [10].…”

“…Es gibt Hinweise, dass regionale Muster von Kindeswohlgefährdung durch Ost/West Unterschiede zu erklären sind [10], die wir in einer Auswahl zweier regionaler Stichproben reproduzieren konnten. Die Ergebnisse haben Grenzen der Interpretierbarkeit und müssen sich erst noch durch Folgestudien bestätigen.…”

Psychosoziale Versorgung und Gesundheit in der DDR – aktuelle Ergebnisse und Analysen

“…In der Shipstudie (Greifswald) werden im Childhood Trauma Screener weniger emotionale Gewalt, körperliche Gewalt und körperliche Vernachlässigung gefunden als in der der Korastudie (Region Augsburg). Dieses Ergebnis erscheint sicherlich vielen Westdeutschen kontraintuitiv, wie dies auch bei vorhergehenden Arbeiten von Ulke et al [6] und Schulz et al [7] der Fall war.…”