Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine, Rr. "Dibres", No. 371, Tirana, Albania; Institute of Public Health, Rr. "Aleksander Moisiu", No. 80, Tirana, Albania.
Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine, Rr. "Dibres", No. 371, Tirana, Albania.
Child Abuse Negl. 2024 Nov;157:107081. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.107081. Epub 2024 Oct 13.
Child abuse and neglect (CAN) constitutes a global public health problem and has serious adverse effects on mental health across the lifespan.
We assessed the independent CAN correlates of poorer mental health among adolescents in a Southeastern European country.
A cross-sectional study was conducted in Albania in 2022 including a nationwide representative sample of 1877 schoolchildren aged 15 years (55 % girls; response: 96 %), in the context of the HBSC survey.
Data on mental health indices (World Health Organization [WHO]-5 wellbeing index; Generalized Anxiety Disorder [GAD]-7; self-efficacy) and lifetime CAN (physical, emotional, sexual abuse; emotional neglect; witnessing of family violence) were collected, along with information on schoolchildren's behavioral factors and their sociodemographic characteristics. General linear model and binary logistic regression were used to assess the independent CAN correlates of children's mental health indices.
Irrespective of behavioral factors and sociodemographic characteristics, schoolchildren who reported any type of lifetime CAN exhibited significantly poorer mental health scores than those who were never abused or neglected. The strongest associations concerned emotional abuse and/or neglect, which were also highly statistically significant (all P < 0.001).
We obtained evidence on independent, strong, and consistent associations between poorer mental health and an array of lifetime CAN indices among 15-year-old children in post-communist Albania. Our findings emphasize the critical need for targeted interventions and support systems to address the possible consequences of CAN on mental wellbeing of adolescents worldwide. In particular, there is need for enhancing primary prevention of CAN.
儿童虐待和忽视（CAN）是一个全球性的公共卫生问题，对整个生命周期的心理健康都有严重的不良影响。
我们评估了东南欧国家青少年中，与较差心理健康相关的独立的 CAN 因素。
2022 年在阿尔巴尼亚进行了一项横断面研究，该研究纳入了来自全国范围内的具有代表性的 1877 名 15 岁学龄儿童（55%为女孩；应答率：96%），这是 HBSC 调查的一部分。
收集了心理健康指数（世界卫生组织[WHO]-5 幸福感指数；广泛性焦虑症[GAD]-7；自我效能感）和一生中 CAN（身体、情感、性虐待；情感忽视；目睹家庭暴力）的数据，以及有关学龄儿童行为因素及其社会人口特征的信息。采用一般线性模型和二元逻辑回归评估儿童心理健康指数的独立 CAN 相关因素。
不论行为因素和社会人口特征如何，报告有任何类型的一生中 CAN 的学龄儿童的心理健康评分明显较差，而那些从未遭受过虐待或忽视的儿童则不然。与情绪虐待和/或忽视有关的关联最强，且具有高度统计学意义（均 P<0.001）。
我们在共产主义后时期的阿尔巴尼亚获得了 15 岁儿童较差心理健康与一生中一系列 CAN 指数之间独立、强烈且一致的关联的证据。我们的研究结果强调了针对全世界青少年的 CAN 对心理健康可能产生的后果，进行有针对性的干预和支持系统的迫切需要。特别是，需要加强对 CAN 的一级预防。
