Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States; United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, United States.
Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States.
Child Abuse Negl. 2024 Apr;150:106556. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106556. Epub 2023 Nov 22.
Parental absence in childhood has been associated with multiple negative consequences, such as depression and anxiety in young adulthood.
To assess whether parental absence for six months or more in childhood is associated with poor mental health and substance use in young adulthood and whether parental absence accounts for additional variance beyond those explained by other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among youth in sub-Saharan Africa.
We used combined Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACS) data from Cote d'Ivoire (2018), Lesotho (2018), Kenya (2019), Namibia (2019), and Mozambique (2019). Analyses were restricted to 18-24-year-olds (n = 7699; n = 2482).
We used logistic regression to examine sex-stratified relationships between parental absence in childhood (defined as biological mother or father being away for six months or more before age 18) and mental health problems and substance use and whether parental absence explained additional variance beyond those explained by other ACEs.
In sub-Saharan Africa, parental absence in childhood was common (30.5 % in females and 25.1 % in males), significantly associated with poor mental health and substance use among females and males and accounted for additional variance beyond those explained by conventional ACEs. For example, after controlling for study covariates and other ACEs, females who experienced any parental absence had 1.52 (95 % CI = 1.02-2.26) higher odds of experiencing moderate/serious psychological distress compared with those who did not.
The observed association between parental absence and poor mental health suggests that this experience has significant adverse consequences and merits consideration as an ACE.
儿童时期父母缺失与多种负面后果相关，例如成年早期的抑郁和焦虑。
评估儿童时期父母缺失 6 个月或更长时间是否与年轻人的心理健康状况不佳和物质使用有关，以及在撒哈拉以南非洲的年轻人中，父母缺失是否在其他不良儿童经历（ACE）之外解释了额外的差异。
我们使用来自科特迪瓦（2018 年）、莱索托（2018 年）、肯尼亚（2019 年）、纳米比亚（2019 年）和莫桑比克（2019 年）的合并暴力侵害儿童和青年调查（VACS）数据。分析仅限于 18-24 岁的人群（n=7699；n=2482）。
我们使用逻辑回归检查童年时期父母缺失（定义为 18 岁之前生物母亲或父亲离开 6 个月或更长时间）与心理健康问题和物质使用之间的性别分层关系，以及父母缺失是否在其他 ACE 之外解释了额外的差异。
在撒哈拉以南非洲，童年时期父母缺失很常见（女性为 30.5%，男性为 25.1%），与女性和男性的心理健康状况不佳和物质使用显著相关，并在常规 ACE 之外解释了额外的差异。例如，在控制了研究协变量和其他 ACE 后，经历过任何父母缺失的女性与未经历过父母缺失的女性相比，经历中度/严重心理困扰的可能性高 1.52 倍（95%CI=1.02-2.26）。
观察到的父母缺失与心理健康状况不佳之间的关联表明，这种经历具有重大的不利后果，值得作为 ACE 加以考虑。
