Public Health Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, 3rd Floor Exchange Station, Tithebarn Street, Liverpool, L2 2QP, UK.
College of Health and Behavioural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, UK.
BMC Med. 2020 Nov 16;18(1):325. doi: 10.1186/s12916-020-01788-3.
Interpersonal violence is a leading cause of death and disability globally, has immediate and long-term impacts on individuals' health and wellbeing, and impacts global health care expenditures and national economies. A public health approach to violence prevention is crucial, and addressing risk factors is a key priority. Global research has demonstrated that childhood adversity increases risk of a range of poor outcomes across the lifecourse. This study examined the association between being a victim of child abuse and the risk of physical assault (PA), intimate partner violence (IPV), and sexual violence (SV) victimisation in adulthood.
Data from a nationally representative survey of household residents (adults aged 16 to 59 years; n = 21,845) was analysed. Types of child abuse examined included physical, sexual, and psychological abuse and witnessing domestic violence. Logistic regressions examined the independent relationships between child abuse types, experiencing multiple types, and adulthood violence outcomes.
Most individual types of child abuse were significantly associated with each adulthood violence outcome, after controlling for sociodemographics and other abuse types. Compared to individuals who experienced no abuse in childhood, those who experienced one form of abuse were over twice as likely to experience PA in the past year and three times as likely to have experienced IPV and/or SV since age 16 years, whilst individuals who experienced multiple types were three, six, and seven times more likely to experience PA, IPV, and SV, respectively. After controlling for sociodemographics and multi-type childhood victimisation, the type or combination of types which remained significant differed by violence outcome; child psychological and physical abuse were significantly associated with IPV; psychological and sexual abuse with SV; and psychological abuse with PA.
Prevention of child abuse is an important goal, and evidence from the current study suggests such efforts will have a downstream effect on preventing interpersonal violence across the lifecourse. With adulthood victimisation likely to compound the already detrimental effects of childhood abuse, and given that many associated outcomes also represent adversities for the next generation, breaking the cycle of violence should be a public health priority.
人际暴力是全球范围内导致死亡和残疾的主要原因，对个人的健康和福祉有直接和长期的影响，并影响全球医疗保健支出和国家经济。采取公共卫生方法预防暴力至关重要，解决风险因素是当务之急。全球研究表明，童年逆境会增加一生中一系列不良后果的风险。本研究调查了虐待儿童与成年期身体攻击（PA）、亲密伴侣暴力（IPV）和性暴力（SV）受害风险之间的关联。
分析了一项全国代表性的家庭居民调查（年龄在 16 至 59 岁的成年人；n=21845）的数据。研究中检查的虐待儿童类型包括身体、性和心理虐待以及目睹家庭暴力。逻辑回归分析了儿童虐待类型、经历多种类型与成年期暴力结果之间的独立关系。
在控制社会人口统计学和其他虐待类型后，大多数单一类型的儿童虐待与每种成年期暴力结果均显著相关。与童年时期未遭受虐待的个体相比，经历过一种虐待形式的个体在过去一年中遭受 PA 的可能性是其两倍多，自 16 岁以来经历过 IPV 和/或 SV 的可能性是其三倍多，而经历过多种类型的个体经历 PA、IPV 和 SV 的可能性分别是其三、六和七倍多。在控制社会人口统计学和儿童多类型受害情况后，与暴力结果相关的类型或类型组合有所不同；儿童心理和身体虐待与 IPV 显著相关；心理和性虐待与 SV 显著相关；心理虐待与 PA 显著相关。
预防儿童虐待是一个重要目标，本研究的证据表明，此类努力将对预防一生中的人际暴力产生下游影响。由于成年期受害可能会加剧童年虐待已经产生的有害影响，并且鉴于许多相关结果也代表了下一代的逆境，打破暴力循环应该成为公共卫生的优先事项。
