Asnake Angwach Abrham, Taddese Asefa Adimasu, Merid Mehari Woldemariam
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences and Medicine, Wolaita Sodo University, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia.
Academy of Wellness and Human Development, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Hong Kong Baptist University, Zhuhai, Hong Kong SAR, China.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Jul 11;25(1):2435. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-23607-1.
Childhood Maltreatment (CM) refers to any form of abuse and neglect as such physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, and motional neglect of children below the age of 18 years. It is global public health problem with severe and enduring consequences. Although examining the consequences of CM on psychological well-being can offer valuable insights for the development of targeted interventions, there is a limited body of research both globally and in Ethiopia specifically addressing the impact of each distinct form of CM on psychological well-being. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of of each form of CM on psychological well-being among public high school and preparatory school students in Northwest Ethiopia.
An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 18 to May 9, 2023. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 1,276 participants. Data were collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was applied to evaluate the direct, indirect, and total effects of CM on psychological well-being.
Approximately 19.76% (95% CI: 17.57%, 22.09%) of students had low psychological well-being. The most prevalent dimension was a sense of purpose in life, reported by 75.87% (95% CI: 73.38%, 78.23%) of respondents. Emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and overall CM had a direct inverse relationship with psychological well-being, with effect sizes of β = -0.325 (95% CI: -0.535, -0.107), β = -0.396 (95% CI: -0.665, -0.123), and β = -0.872 (95% CI: -1.595, -0.448), respectively. Physical neglect, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and emotional neglect had an indirect inverse relationship with psychological well-being, with effect sizes of β = -0.300 (95% CI: -0.625, -0.159), β = -0.187 (95% CI: -0.362, -0.082), β = -0.281 (95% CI: -0.478, -0.146), and β = -0.240 (95% CI: -0.437, -0.117), respectively.
This study emphasizes that emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and overall CM directly decrease the psychological well-being of adolescents in Gondar Town. Additionally, physical neglect and emotional neglect negatively impact psychological well-being through a indirect effect. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating the prevention and treatment of CM into mental health interventions. Early intervention is crucial to mitigating the long-term psychological consequences of maltreatment.
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-025-23607-1.
儿童期虐待（CM）是指对18岁以下儿童的任何形式的虐待和忽视，如身体虐待、性虐待、情感虐待、身体忽视和情感忽视。这是一个具有严重且持久后果的全球公共卫生问题。尽管研究CM对心理健康的影响可为制定有针对性的干预措施提供有价值的见解，但全球范围内以及在埃塞俄比亚，专门针对每种不同形式的CM对心理健康影响的研究都很有限。因此，本研究旨在探讨埃塞俄比亚西北部公立高中和预科学校学生中每种形式的CM对心理健康的影响。
2023年4月18日至5月9日进行了一项基于机构的横断面研究。采用简单随机抽样技术选取1276名参与者。使用结构化的自填问卷收集数据。应用结构方程模型（SEM）来评估CM对心理健康的直接、间接和总体影响。
约19.76%（95%置信区间：17.57%，22.09%）的学生心理健康水平较低。最普遍的维度是生活目标感，75.87%（95%置信区间：73.38%，78.23%）的受访者报告有此情况。情感虐待、性虐待和总体CM与心理健康呈直接负相关，效应大小分别为β = -0.325（95%置信区间：-0.535，-0.107）、β = -0.396（95%置信区间：-0.665，-0.123）和β = -0.872（95%置信区间：-1.595，-0.448）。身体忽视、性虐待、情感虐待和情感忽视与心理健康呈间接负相关，效应大小分别为β = -0.300（95%置信区间：-0.625，-0.159）、β = -0.187（95%置信区间：-0.362，-0.082）、β = -0.281（95%置信区间：-0.478，-0.146）和β = -0.240（95%置信区间：-0.437，-0.117）。
本研究强调，情感虐待、性虐待和总体CM直接降低了贡德尔镇青少年的心理健康水平。此外，身体忽视和情感忽视通过间接效应对心理健康产生负面影响。这些发现凸显了将CM的预防和治疗纳入心理健康干预措施的重要性。早期干预对于减轻虐待的长期心理后果至关重要。
在线版本包含可在10.1186/s12889-025-2360-1获取的补充材料。
