Almost one-third of Canadian adults have experienced child abuse

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-04/cmaj-aoo041514.php

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 22-Apr-2014

Contact: Kim Barnhardt
Canadian Medical Association Journal

Almost one-third of Canadian adults have experienced child abuse

Increased link to mental disorders, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts

Almost one-third of adults in Canada have experienced child abuse — physical abuse, sexual abuse or exposure to intimate partner (parents, step-parents or guardians) violence in their home. As well, child abuse is linked to mental disorders and suicidal ideation (thoughts) or suicide attempts, found an article published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

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People between 35 and 64 years of age were more likely than those aged 18 to 34 years to report having been abused as a child.

"All 3 types of child abuse were associated with all types of interview-diagnosed mental disorders, self-reported mental conditions, suicide ideation [thoughts of suicide] and suicide attempts in models adjusting for sociodemographic variables," write the authors.

Drug abuse or dependence, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts remained associated with all types of child abuse even in the most adjusted models. The least severe type of physical abuse (being slapped on the face, head or ears or hit or spanked with something hard) showed a strong association with all mental conditions in models adjusting for sociodemographic variables. Exposure to more than one type of abuse increased the odds of having a mental condition.

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