Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland 4122, Australia; Ministry of Public Administration, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland 4122, Australia; Department of Sociology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, United States.
Child Abuse Negl. 2022 Jul;129:105665. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105665. Epub 2022 May 11.
Childhood maltreatment (CM) is connected with a large number of maladaptive long-term outcomes. Effective prevention and intervention hinges partly on our understanding of the key mediating mechanisms that help account for the relationship between child maltreatment and its long-term consequences. We know the consequences of CM can extend into adulthood, including the intergenerational transmission of violence, re-victimization, high-risk behavior, and persisting mental health problems. We argue that CM also likely affects decision-making autonomy in adulthood, limiting their independence and exaggerating their risk for other poor outcomes. We suggest that the effects of CM on self-esteem and access to social support mediate this relationship, helping to explain how and why CM impacts autonomy in the long term.
This study aimed to examine these relationships using a cross-sectional sample of currently married women of Bangladesh aged 15-49 years (N = 426).
A multi-stage random sampling technique was employed for data collection and a multivariate logistic regression technique was applied for data analysis.
Results from the multivariate logistic regression model revealed a direct effect of a history of CM on limited decision-making autonomy in adulthood and a full mediating effect of self-esteem and social support on the associations between CM and decision-making autonomy in women, even after adjusting for theoretically and empirically relevant covariates.
The study findings provide insight into the mechanisms by which early childhood experiences impact autonomous decision-making. However, causality cannot be determined because of the cross-sectional design. Finally, our findings suggest that the influence of CM on autonomy could be augmented by self-esteem recovery through social support from family, friends, and peers.
儿童期虐待（CM）与大量适应不良的长期后果有关。有效的预防和干预在一定程度上取决于我们对关键中介机制的理解，这些机制有助于解释儿童虐待与其长期后果之间的关系。我们知道 CM 的后果可以延伸到成年期，包括暴力的代际传递、再次受害、高风险行为和持续的心理健康问题。我们认为，CM 还可能影响成年后的决策自主权，限制他们的独立性，并使他们面临其他不良后果的风险增加。我们认为，CM 对自尊和获得社会支持的影响会调节这种关系，有助于解释 CM 如何以及为何会长期影响自主权。
本研究旨在使用孟加拉国目前 15-49 岁已婚妇女的横断面样本（N=426）来检验这些关系。
采用多阶段随机抽样技术收集数据，并采用多变量逻辑回归技术进行数据分析。
多变量逻辑回归模型的结果表明，CM 史与成年后决策自主权受限之间存在直接关系，自尊和社会支持对 CM 与妇女决策自主权之间的关联具有完全中介作用，即使在调整了理论上和经验上相关的协变量后也是如此。
该研究结果深入了解了早期童年经历对自主决策的影响机制。然而，由于横断面设计，无法确定因果关系。最后，我们的研究结果表明，通过来自家庭、朋友和同龄人的社会支持来恢复自尊，可能会增强 CM 对自主权的影响。
