Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Universität Bremen, Grazer Straße 6, 28359, Bremen, Germany.
Department of Psychology, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology and Psychotherapy, Bielefeld University Universität Bielefeld, Universität Straße 25, 33615, Bielefeld, Germany.
BMC Psychiatry. 2024 Feb 15;24(1):126. doi: 10.1186/s12888-024-05586-6.
Child abuse is widespread around the world, and one continent with particularly high rates is Africa. Research in high- and middle-income countries shows the cascading effect of parental history of child abuse and neglect on adolescents' maltreatment and, in turn, on mental health problems. This cascade has been reported in young children but has rarely been studied in parent-adolescent dyads or in low-income countries (LICs). The goal of this study was to test intergenerational associations of child abuse and neglect and to examine how these experiences are in turn associated with youth anxiety and depression in an LIC.
A total of 231 adolescents (age: 13-21 years) and 185 of their parents (n = 90 fathers and n = 95 mothers) were recruited from secondary schools in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. Using a cross-sectional design, participants completed a set of questionnaires assessing child maltreatment (in adolescence and own past history in parents), parental psychological distress, youth depression and anxiety, and sociodemographic factors.
The frequencies of child maltreatment exposure were 68% for adolescents and 65% for their parents (when they were a child). Fifty-one percent and 42% of adolescents had borderline to clinical levels of anxiety and depression symptoms, respectively. Adolescents of parents with a history of child abuse and neglect also reported higher exposure to maltreatment themselves (p < 0.001). Current paternal, but not maternal, psychological distress mediated this intergenerational association of maltreatment experiences (95% CI [1.164, 9.467]). We further found parents' psychological distress to be a significant moderator of the indirect pathways of the intergenerational effect of child maltreatment on adolescents' anxiety and depression (95% CI [- 0.770, - 0.012]).
We found child maltreatment to be intergenerationally associated, and this effect subsequently affected adolescents' anxiety and depression through different pathways supporting the cascading effects across generations. Intervention plans may be effective through an array of possible indirect pathways and encourage the implementation of multiple access points to facilitate change in the lives of affected youth in Africa.
儿童虐待在世界各地都很普遍，其中一个虐待率特别高的地区是非洲。在高收入和中等收入国家的研究表明，父母虐待和忽视儿童的历史对青少年的虐待以及随之而来的心理健康问题有连锁效应。这种级联反应在幼儿中已有报道，但在亲子对或低收入国家（LICs）中很少有研究。本研究的目的是检验儿童虐待和忽视的代际关联，并研究这些经历如何反过来与 LIC 中的青少年焦虑和抑郁有关。
共有 231 名青少年（年龄：13-21 岁）和他们的 185 名父母（n=90 名父亲和 n=95 名母亲）参加了这项研究，他们是从埃塞俄比亚亚的斯亚贝巴的中学招募的。采用横断面设计，参与者完成了一套问卷，评估儿童虐待（在青少年时期和自己的父母过去的经历）、父母心理困扰、青少年抑郁和焦虑以及社会人口因素。
青少年暴露于儿童虐待的频率为 68%，其父母（当他们还是孩子时）为 65%。51%和 42%的青少年分别有边缘到临床水平的焦虑和抑郁症状。父母有虐待儿童史的青少年自己也报告了更高水平的虐待暴露（p<0.001）。当前的父亲，但不是母亲，心理困扰介导了这种代际虐待经历的关联（95%CI[1.164,9.467]）。我们还发现，父母的心理困扰是代际儿童虐待对青少年焦虑和抑郁的间接途径的一个显著调节因素（95%CI[-0.770，-0.012]）。
我们发现儿童虐待存在代际关联，这种效应通过不同的途径影响青少年的焦虑和抑郁，从而支持代际之间的级联效应。干预计划可能通过一系列可能的间接途径有效，并鼓励实施多个接入点，以促进非洲受影响青年生活的改变。
