From Maltreatment to Psychiatric Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence : The Relevance of Emotional Maltreatment

ORCID
0000-0002-8033-6537
Affiliation
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics,University of Leipzig , Leipzig, Germany
Schlensog-Schuster, Franziska;
ORCID
0000-0002-5001-0659
Affiliation
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics,University of Leipzig , Leipzig, Germany
Keil, Jan;
Affiliation
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics,University of Leipzig , Leipzig, Germany
Von Klitzing, Kai;
Affiliation
Department of Educational Science,University of Innsbruck , Innsbruck, Austria
Gniewosz, Gabriela;
Affiliation
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics,University of Leipzig , Leipzig, Germany
Schulz, Charlotte C.;
GND
1322455864
ORCID
0000-0003-3137-4438
Affiliation
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics,University of Leipzig , Leipzig, Germany
Schlesier-Michel, Andrea;
Affiliation
Department of Pediatric Surgery,University of Leipzig , Leipzig, Germany
Mayer, Steffi;
Affiliation
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics,University of Leipzig , Leipzig, Germany
Stadelmann, Stephanie;
Affiliation
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics,University of Leipzig , Leipzig, Germany
Döhnert, Mirko;
Affiliation
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics,University of Leipzig , Leipzig, Germany
Klein, Annette M.;
Affiliation
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics,University of Leipzig , Leipzig, Germany
Sierau, Susan;
Affiliation
Mt. Hope Family Center,University of Rochester , New York, NY, USA
Manly, Jody T.;
Affiliation
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience,University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Sheridan, Margaret A.;
Affiliation
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics,University of Leipzig , Leipzig, Germany
White, Lars O.

Different forms of maltreatment are thought to incur a cumulative and non-specific toll on mental health. However, few large-scale studies draw on psychiatric diagnoses manifesting in early childhood and adolescence to identify sequelae of differential maltreatment exposures, and emotional maltreatment, in particular. Fine-grained multi-source dimensional maltreatment assessments and validated age-appropriate clinical interviews were conducted in a sample of N = 778 3 to 16-year-olds. We aimed to (a) substantiate known patterns of clinical outcomes following maltreatment and (b) analyse relative effects of emotional maltreatment, abuse (physical and sexual), and neglect (physical, supervisory, and moral-legal/educational) using structural equation modeling. Besides confirming known relationships between maltreatment exposures and psychiatric disorders, emotional maltreatment exerted particularly strong effects on internalizing disorders in older youth and externalizing disorders in younger children, accounting for variance over and above abuse and neglect exposures. Our data highlight the toxicity of pathogenic relational experiences from early childhood onwards, urging researchers and practitioners alike to prioritize future work on emotional maltreatment.

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