Child abuse and pubertal timing: what is the role of child sex and identity of the perpetrator?

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the association between child abuse [child neglect (CN), emotional (CEA) and physical abuse (CPA)] and early puberty with special regard to sex-specific effects concerning child and parental perpetrator. METHODS: Data assessment took place within the framework of the LIFE Child Depression study, a longitudinal study on the development of depressive symptoms and disorders between child- and adulthood in Leipzig, Germany. A sample of 709 children (8-14 years) was recruited from the general population and via psychiatric hospitals. Data on pubertal status were assessed using an instrument for self-assessment of tanner stages (scales of physical pubertal development). Information on menarche was provided by parents. The Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS-PC) served for data on child abuse. RESULTS: Regarding physical puberty markers, significant correlations were found, especially with child neglect (CN) and child emotional abuse (CEA). Regression analyses, controlling for Body-Mass-Index (BMI) and Socioeconomic Status (SES), revealed that children affected by child neglect perpetrated by mother (CNm) and child emotional abuse (CEA) parent-non-specifically enter puberty significantly earlier. Sex-specific analyses identified child neglect perpetrated by mother (CNm) to be associated with early puberty in girls and child emotional abuse perpetrated by father (CEAf) with early puberty in boys. Concerning the onset of menstruation, there was a significant positive correlation between early menarche and parent-specific and non-specific child neglect (CN), as well as between early menarche and child emotional abuse perpetrated by the mother (CEAm). In regression models that controlled for Body-Mass-Index (BMI) and Socioeconomic Status (SES) no significant associations were maintained. Child physical abuse (CPA) was not associated with early puberty. CONCLUSION: Results outlined child neglect (CN) and child emotional abuse (CEA) to be sex- and perpetrator-specific risk factors for early pubertal development. Knowledge of sex- and perpetrator-specific effects could help clinicians to specify their diagnostic process and to define differential prevention and treatment goals for children with experiences of CN and CEA. Further research on the sex-specific impact of parental CN and CEA on girls' and boys' puberty is needed.

Impact of emotional abuse on eating disorder psychopathology: A multiple mediation analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Childhood maltreatment, particularly emotional abuse (EA), has been identified as a significant risk factor for the development of eating disorders (EDs). This study investigated the association between EA and ED symptoms while considering multiple potential mediators. METHODS: Participants included 151 individuals with Anorexia Nervosa (AN), 115 with Bulimia Nervosa (BN), and 108 healthy controls. The Childhood trauma questionnaire, the Toronto Alexithymia scale, the Behavioral inhibition System, and the Eating Disorder Inventory 2 scale were completed before treatment. A mediator path model was conducted in each group: EA was set as independent variable, eating symptoms as dependent variables and ineffectiveness, sensitivity to punishment, alexithymia, and impulsivity as mediators. RESULTS: In individuals with AN, impulsivity emerged as a significant mediator between EA and desire for thinness and bulimic behaviors. Conversely, in individuals with BN, sensitivity to punishment was found to mediate the association between EA and dissatisfaction with one's body. Ineffectiveness and difficulty identifying emotions were identified as transdiagnostic mediators in both clinical groups. No mediation effect was found in healthy individuals. DISCUSSION: The simultaneous assessment of multiple mediators in a unique model outlines the complex interplay between childhood EA and ED psychopathology. Improving ineffectiveness, emotion identification, sensitivity to punishment and impulsivity and exploring their relations with early emotional abuse may represent treatment targets in individuals with EDs and childhood trauma.

Aberrant salience mediates the interplay between emotional abuse and positive symptoms in schizophrenia.

INTRODUCTION: Childhood trauma and adversities (CTA) and aberrant salience (AS) have a pivotal role in schizophrenia development, but their interplay with psychotic symptoms remains vague. We explored the mediation performed by AS between CTA and psychotic symptomatology in schizophrenia. METHODS: We approached 241 adults suffering from schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs), who have been in the unit for at least 12 consecutive months, excluding the diagnosis of dementia, and recent substance abuse disorder, and cross-sectional evaluated through the Aberrant Salience Inventory (ASI), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire Short-Form (CTQ-SF), and Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS). We tested a path-diagram where AS mediated the relationship between CTA and psychosis, after verifying each measure one-dimensionality through confirmatory factor analysis. RESULTS: The final sample comprised 222 patients (36.9% female), with a mean age of 42.4 (± 13.3) years and an average antipsychotic dose of 453.6 (± 184.2) mg/day (chlorpromazine equivalents). The mean duration of untreated psychosis was 1.8 (± 2.0) years while the mean onset age was 23.9 (± 8.2) years. Significant paths were found from emotional abuse to ASI total score (ß = 0.39; p < .001) and from ASI total score to PANSS positive (ß = 0.17; p = .019). Finally, a statistically significant indirect association was found from emotional abuse to PANSS positive mediated by ASI total score (ß = 0.06; p = .041; CI 95% [0.01, 0.13]). CONCLUSION: Emotional abuse has an AS-mediated effect on positive psychotic symptomatology. AS evaluation could allow a better characterization of psychosis as well as explain the presence of positive symptoms in adults with SSDs who experienced CTA.

From childhood trauma to alcohol use disorder severity - significance of depressive symptoms and expectations towards analgesic effects of alcohol.

AIMS: The objective of the current study was to describe and analyse associations between childhood emotional abuse, severity of depressive symptoms, and analgesic expectations of drinking in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD). METHODS: A total of 240 individuals aged 43.85 ± 11.0 with severe AUD entering an inpatient, abstinence-based, and drug-free treatment program were assessed. The data on AUD severity, depressive symptoms, expectations towards the analgesic effects of alcohol and childhood emotional trauma was collected using questionnaire measures. The PROCESS SPSS macro for serial mediation with bootstrapping was used to test whether current severity of depressive symptoms and expectations towards analgesic effects of alcohol use serially mediated the association between childhood emotional abuse on AUD symptom severity. RESULTS: There was evidence for two simple mediated effects, whereby the severity of depressive symptoms mediated the association between childhood emotional abuse on AUD symptom severity, and expectations towards analgesic effects of alcohol mediated the association between childhood emotional abuse on AUD symptom severity. There was also evidence to support serial mediation whereby both severity of depressive symptoms and expectations towards analgesic effects of alcohol mediated the association between childhood emotional abuse on AUD symptom severity. CONCLUSIONS: It might be clinically relevant to address experiences of childhood emotional trauma, as well as individual expectations of analgesic effects of alcohol, in AUD treatment programs.

Childhood abuse and neglect and profiles of adult emotion dynamics.

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is experienced by ∼40% of all children at major personal and societal costs. The divergent associations between emotional, physical, and sexual abuse or neglect in childhood and differences in adult emotional functioning and regulation were examined in terms of daily emotion intensity, variability, instability, inertia, and diversity, reported over 30 days by 290 Dutch aged 19-73. Participants described their abuse/neglect experiences retrospectively using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Dissecting CM effects on adult emotion dynamics may inform theories on the ontogenesis and functioning of emotions, on effects of abuse and neglect, to better understand (dys)functional emotional development, and to prevent their adverse sequelae. Structural equation models (SEM) showed that most types of CM were associated with specific patterns of emotion dynamics, and only emotional abuse had no unique effects on the emotional dynamic indices. Emotional neglect was associated with most measures of emotion dynamics (i.e., less intense, variable, unstable, and diverse emotions). Sexual abuse associated with increases and physical neglect decreases in negative affect variability and instability. Physical abuse was associated with inertia but with a small effect size. Social contact frequency did not mediate much of the relationship between CM types and emotion dynamics.

Prevalence, pattern and predictors of intimate partner violence amongst female undergraduates in Abia State, Nigeria; public health implications.

BACKGROUND: Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is the range of sexually, psychologically and physically coercive acts used against adult and adolescent women by a current or former male partner. It is a major public health problem globally. This study determined the prevalence, patterns and predictors of IPV amongst female undergraduates in Abia State. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January - February 2022 amongst 306 female undergraduates in Abia State. A mixed method of an online structured questionnaire created on Google forms & onsite self-administered questionnaire were deployed for data collection. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses were done using IBM SPSS Version 26.0. The level of significance was set at 5%. RESULTS: A total of 306 respondents participated in the survey. The overall prevalence of IPV amongst female undergraduates was 51.2% (95% CI: 44.8-57.6%). Emotional abuse was the most common form of abuse 78.9%, followed by Physical abuse 42.0% and Sexual abuse 30.8%. Predictors of IPV reported include female earning/receiving more than their partner monthly (aOR = 2.30; 95% CI: 1.20-4.41); male (partner) alcohol consumption (aOR = 5.17; 95% CI: 2.46-10.88), being a smoker of cigarette/marijuana (aOR = 11.01; 95% CI: 1.26-96.25) and having witnessed domestic violence as a child (aOR = 3.55; 95% CI: I.56-8.07). Adverse effects such as unwanted pregnancies (12%), miscarriages (10%), eating/sleeping disorders (21%) and bruises (23%) amongst others were noted in some of the victims. CONCLUSION: Over half of all female undergraduates in Abia State have experienced IPV with emotional abuse being the commonest. Some Individual and relationship factors were identified as predictors of IPV. We recommend intensifying primary prevention campaigns against risk factors identified like smoking and alcohol consumption.

Multiple mediation of the association between childhood emotional abuse and adult obesity by anxiety and bulimia - a sample from bariatric surgery candidates and healthy controls.

Bulimia, which means a person has episodes of eating a very large amount of food (bingeing) during which the person feels a loss of control over their eating, is the most primitive reason for being overweight and obese. The extended literature has indicated that childhood emotional abuse has a close relationship with adverse mood states, bulimia, and obesity. To comprehensively understand the potential links among these factors, we evaluated a multiple mediation model in which anxiety/depression and bulimia were mediators between childhood emotional abuse and body mass index (BMI). A set of self-report questionnaires, including the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI), was sent out. Clinical data from 37 obese patients (age: 29.65 ± 5.35, body mass index (BMI): 37.59 ± 6.34) and 37 demographically well-matched healthy people with normal body weight (age: 31.35 ± 10.84, BMI: 22.16 ± 3.69) were included in the investigation. We first performed an independent t-test to compare all scales or subscale scores between the two groups. Then, we conducted Pearson correlation analysis to test every two variables' pairwise correlation. Finally, multiple mediation analysis was performed with BMI as the outcome variable, and childhood emotional abuse as the predictive variable. Pairs of anxiety, bulimia, and depression, bulimia were selected as the mediating variables in different multiple mediation models separately. The results show that the obese group reported higher childhood emotional abuse (t = 2.157, p = 0.034), worse mood state (anxiety: t = 5.466, p < 0.001; depression: t = 2.220, p = 0.030), and higher bulimia (t = 3.400, p = 0.001) than the healthy control group. Positive correlations were found in every pairwise combination of BMI, childhood emotional abuse, anxiety, and bulimia. Multiple mediation analyses indicate that childhood emotional abuse is positively linked to BMI (ß = 1.312, 95% CI = 0.482-2.141). The model using anxiety and bulimia as the multiple mediating variables is attested to play roles in the relationship between childhood emotional abuse and obesity (indirect effect = 0.739, 95% CI = 0.261-1.608, 56.33% of the total effect). These findings confirm that childhood emotional abuse contributes to adulthood obesity through the multiple mediating effects of anxiety and bulimia. The present study adds another potential model to facilitate our understanding of the eating psychopathology of obesity.

Design and evaluation of child abuse web-based application for parent education & strengthen.

BACKGROUND: Child abuse is one of the major health and social problems in the world and has severe short-term and long-term consequences on children's psychological, social and physical functioning. One of the effective strategies to control and prevent child abuse is training parent through web-based applications. The aim of this study is to design and evaluation of child abuse web-based application for parent education and strengthen. METHODS: This study is an applied-developmental study that performed in Razi Educational and Therapeutic Center in Tabriz. The study consisted of three main phases. The requirements assessment and design phases were completed between November 2022 and February 2023. The research community was parents referring to Razi Center and convenience sampling was used to select the samples. In firststage, a questionnaire was designed by searching in library sources and consulting with specialists for needs assessment and application design. The questionnaire was completed by psychiatric specialists, health information management and health information technology.Finally, the usability of designed application was evaluated with the participation of 30 parents and specialists. RESULTS: Based on the identified information elements and capabilities, a child abuse web-based application was designed. Application capabilities were such as concepts of child abuse, prevention and treatment strategies, parenting skills, childrens behavioral disorders, child abuse laws and interaction with clinical specialists. Finally, the result of the web-based application usability evaluation was evaluated at a good level equal to an average of 7.6 out of a total of 9 points. CONCLUSIONS: The possibility of expressing experiences, exchanging message, attractiveness, ease of use, and accessibility of parents, they were designed as application features. The usability of the web-based application was satisfactory to users in various of overall functionality, display, terminology, learning ability and overall application capability.

The association between emotional abuse in childhood and healthcare utilization in adulthood among sami and non-sami: the SAMINOR 2 questionnaire survey.

BACKGROUND: Emotional abuse in childhood is the most common type of childhood abuse worldwide and is associated with a variety of somatic and mental health issues. However, globally and in indigenous contexts, research on the associations between emotional abuse in childhood and somatic and mental specialist healthcare utilization in adulthood is sparse. AIM: The main aim of this study was to investigate the association between emotional abuse in childhood and somatic and mental specialist healthcare utilization in adulthood in Sami and non-Sami populations, and to examine whether this association differs between the two ethnic groups. METHOD: This study used cross-sectional data from the SAMINOR 2 Questionnaire Survey - a population-based study on health and living conditions in areas with Sami and non-Sami populations in Middle and Northern Norway. In total, 11 600 individuals participated in SAMINOR 2. Logistic regression was used to present the association between emotional abuse in childhood and somatic and mental specialist healthcare utilization. RESULTS: Emotional abuse in childhood was significantly associated with somatic specialist healthcare utilization in adulthood (fully adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.31, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15-1.49), with no differences observed between ethnic groups. Emotional abuse in childhood was also associated with mental specialist healthcare utilization (fully adjusted OR 3.99, 95% CI 3.09-5.14), however this association was weaker among Sami (crude OR 2.38, 95% CI 1.37-4.13) compared with non-Sami (crude OR 5.40, 95% Cl 4.07-7.15) participants. CONCLUSIONS: Emotional abuse in childhood is associated with somatic and mental specialist healthcare utilization in adulthood, with a stronger association to mental healthcare utilization. The association between emotional abuse in childhood and mental specialist healthcare utilization was weaker among Sami than non-Sami participants. Future studies should investigate the reason for this ethnic difference. Our results highlight the need to strengthen efforts to prevent childhood abuse and develop strategies to reduce its societal and personal burden.

The mediating role of trait mindfulness and dissociative experiences in the relationship between childhood emotional abuse and problematic internet use in Italian adolescents.

There is clear evidence linking trauma, mindfulness, dissociation and problematic internet use (PIU). Nonetheless, little is known about the role trait mindfulness and dissociative experiences may have in the relationship between childhood emotional abuse (CEA) and PIU, as well as the role that gender may have in such relationships. In the current research, self-report questionnaires on CEA, trait mindfulness, dissociative experiences and PIU were administered to 1074 Italian adolescents (50% females) aged 14-17 years old, to test whether trait mindfulness and dissociative experiences mediated the relationship between CEA and PIU, and whether the proposed mediation was invariant across genders. Furthermore, the main analyses were controlled for background variables. The findings highlighted significant associations between all direct and indirect paths and invariance of the mediation model across boys and girls. The results of this study highlight that emotionally abused boys and girls with high levels of dissociation and inadequate mindful skills may be more exposed to dysfunctional online activities. Hence, developing dissociation-focused and mindfulness-based interventions for emotionally abused adolescents may be clinically effective when building tailored approaches for the prevention and management of PIU. Further implications are discussed.

[Emotional Abuse in Childhood and Adolescence: Biological Embedding and Clinical Implications]. / Emotionaler Missbrauch in Kindheit und Jugend ­ Biologische Einbettung und klinische Implikationen.

Emotional abuse, defined as degrading, manipulative, or neglectful behaviors by caregivers, represents a common adverse experience for children and adolescents, often co-occurring with other maltreatment types. Exposure to emotional abuse significantly affects mental health across the lifespan and is particularly associated with elevated depression risk.This review examinesmechanisms, by which emotional abuse influences brain development and the neuroendocrine stress response system and discusses the roles of genetic vulnerability and epigenetic processes in contributing to an elevated mental health risk. Emotional abuse has similar effects on brain networks responsible for emotion processing and regulation as other maltreatment types.Moreover, it uniquely affects networks related to self-relevant information and socio-cognitive processes. Furthermore, emotional abuse is associated with an impaired recovery of the neuroendocrine response to acute stress. Similar to other maltreatment types, emotional abuse is associated with epigenetic changes in genes regulating the neuroendocrine stress response system that are implicated in increased mental health risk.These findings suggest that emotional abuse has equally detrimental effects on children'smental health as physical or sexual abuse, warranting broader societal awareness and enhanced early detection efforts. Early interventions should prioritize emotion regulation, social cognition, self-esteemenhancement, and relationship- oriented approaches for victims of emotional abuse.

The non-specific nature of mental health and structural brain outcomes following childhood trauma.

BACKGROUND: Childhood trauma (CT) is associated with an increased risk of mental health disorders; however, it is unknown whether this represents a diagnosis-specific risk factor for specific psychopathology mediated by structural brain changes. Our aim was to explore whether (i) a predictive CT pattern for transdiagnostic psychopathology exists, and whether (ii) CT can differentiate between distinct diagnosis-dependent psychopathology. Furthermore, we aimed to identify the association between CT, psychopathology and brain structure. METHODS: We used multivariate pattern analysis in data from 643 participants of the Personalised Prognostic Tools for Early Psychosis Management study (PRONIA), including healthy controls (HC), recent onset psychosis (ROP), recent onset depression (ROD), and patients clinically at high-risk for psychosis (CHR). Participants completed structured interviews and self-report measures including the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, SCID diagnostic interview, BDI-II, PANSS, Schizophrenia Proneness Instrument, Structured Interview for Prodromal Symptoms and structural MRI, analyzed by voxel-based morphometry. RESULTS: (i) Patients and HC could be distinguished by their CT pattern with a reasonable precision [balanced accuracy of 71.2% (sensitivity = 72.1%, specificity = 70.4%, p ≤ 0.001]. (ii) Subdomains 'emotional neglect' and 'emotional abuse' were most predictive for CHR and ROP, while in ROD 'physical abuse' and 'sexual abuse' were most important. The CT pattern was significantly associated with the severity of depressive symptoms in ROD, ROP, and CHR, as well as with the PANSS total and negative domain scores in the CHR patients. No associations between group-separating CT patterns and brain structure were found. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that CT poses a transdiagnostic risk factor for mental health disorders, possibly related to depressive symptoms. While differences in the quality of CT exposure exist, diagnostic differentiation was not possible suggesting a multi-factorial pathogenesis.

MeTooMS: Sexual, physical, and emotional abuse experience among women with multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Sexual and physical violence against disabled individuals is widespread and linked to negative public health and social outcomes. The real-world prevalence of abuse in women with multiple sclerosis (MS) has not been well studied. OBJECTIVES: To explore abuse prevalence in a real-world cohort of females with MS attending an academic MS Center. METHODS: Prospective and retrospective abuse data were confidentially collected during neurology clinic visits and extracted from medical records for women attending an academic MS Center. Self-reported and provider-documented prevalence of abuse experiences were correlated with socio-economic and disease-specific factors. RESULTS: In total, 200 women completed prospective questionnaires, and 121 non-overlapping independent health records were retrospectively reviewed. Mean age (SD) was 49.055 (11.39). Seventy-six (38%) reported lifetime abuse incidents; 15% were abused within the previous year. Intimate partners were the most likely verbal (p ⩽ 0.01)) and physical (p = 0.04) abuse perpetrators. Neurologic disability correlated with greater likelihood of verbal abuse (p = 0.021) in prospective cohort. There was no billing or encounter documentation for any form of abuse. CONCLUSION: Intimate partner violence is common in women with MS, correlates with neurologic disability, and is underreported by the health system. Future research needs to focus on abuse detection and mitigation strategies.

Childhood emotional abuse and alcohol use disorders in a national Nepali women sample: The mediating role of borderline personality traits.

While many studies have found an association between childhood emotional abuse and alcohol use disorders (AUD) during adulthood, underlying psychological mechanisms linking the two remain inadequately understood. Drawing on the developmental psychopathology perspective, this study examined the relationship between childhood emotional abuse and AUD during adulthood with a national sample of women in Nepal (N = 1,100, M age = 37.73), focusing on the mediating role of borderline personality traits. Mediation analyses were performed using the Karlson-Holm-Breen (KHB) method and bootstrapping confidence intervals. Results indicated that Nepali women's borderline personality traits significantly mediated the relationship between childhood emotional abuse and AUD. Hence, emotional abuse in childhood increases the risk for AUD during adulthood for Nepali women by increasing the risk of borderline personality traits. Findings underscore the necessity of continued emphasis on developing and implementing early interventions for childhood emotional abuse and therapeutic interventions for borderline personality traits in reducing AUD among vulnerable women in Nepal.

Child abuse and automatic emotion regulation in children and adolescents.

Child abuse is associated with elevated risk for psychopathology. The current study examined the role of automatic emotion regulation as a potential mechanism linking child abuse with internalizing psychopathology. A sample of 237 youth aged 8-16 years and their caregivers participated. Child abuse severity was assessed by self-report questionnaires, and automatic emotion regulation was assessed using an emotional Stroop task designed to measure adaptation to emotional conflict. A similar task without emotional stimuli was also administered to evaluate whether abuse was uniquely associated with emotion regulation, but not cognitive control applied in a nonemotional context. Internalizing psychopathology was assessed concurrently and at a 2-year longitudinal follow-up. Child abuse severity was associated with lower emotional conflict adaptation but was unrelated to cognitive control. Specifically, the severity of emotional and physical abuse, but not sexual abuse, were associated with lower emotional conflict adaptation. Emotional conflict adaptation was not associated with internalizing psychopathology prospectively. These findings suggest that childhood emotional and physical abuse, in particular, may influence automatic forms of emotion regulation. Future work exploring the socioemotional consequences of altered automatic emotion regulation among youth exposed to child abuse is clearly needed.

Self-reported child maltreatment and cardiometabolic risk in 30-year-old adults.

BACKGROUND: Childhood maltreatment (CM) is associated with both dietary fat intake and obesity in later life. There is less information on associations with metabolic risk factors and specific types of CM such as physical, sexual and emotional abuse, as well as neglect. AIMS: To assess the association between five types of self-reported CM and a range of obesity and metabolic indicators in a subsample of a birth cohort. METHODS: This was a study of 1689 adults born in a major metropolitan maternity hospital in Australia and followed up 30 years later. Body mass index, bioimpedance and fasting lipid levels/insulin resistance were measured. Details on self-reported CM were collected using the Child Trauma Questionnaire. We adjusted for birth weight, parental income and relationship at participants' birth, as well as maternal age and alcohol or tobacco use. We also adjusted for participants' smoking, depression, educational level, marital and employment status at follow up. RESULTS: One-fifth reported maltreatment (n = 362), most commonly emotional neglect (n = 175), followed by emotional abuse (n = 128), physical neglect (n = 123), sexual (n = 121) and physical abuse (n = 116). On adjusted analyses, there were significant associations for CM, particularly neglect or emotional abuse, and one or more of the following outcomes: obesity, the total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TC/HDL-C) ratio and HDL levels. Results for other outcomes were more equivocal. CONCLUSIONS: Of child maltreatment types, emotional abuse and neglect show the strongest associations with obesity and several cardiometabolic risk factors, therefore highlighting the public health importance of early intervention to reduce childhood adversity.

Receiving threatening or obscene messages from a partner and mental health, self-harm and suicidality: results from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey.

PURPOSE: Threatening or obscene messaging is repeated, unwanted texts, emails, letters or cards experienced by the recipient as threatening or obscene, and causing fear, alarm or distress. It is rarely examined as an aspect of intimate partner violence. We describe the prevalence of exposure to threatening/obscene messaging from a current or ex-partner; characteristics of victims; and associations with other forms of violence and abuse, mental disorder, self-harm, and suicidality. METHODS: Cross-sectional probability-sample survey of the general population in England aged 16 + . Multivariable regression modelling tested associations between receipt of threatening/obscene messaging and current common mental disorder, past-year self-harm and suicidality. RESULTS: Threatening/obscene messages were received from a current/ex-partner by 6.6% (95%CI: 5.9-7.3) of adults who had been in a relationship; 1.7% received these in the past year. Victims were more likely to be female, under 35, single or divorced, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and to have experienced other forms of sexual and partner violence and abuse. Those who received threatening/obscene messages in the past year were more likely to experience common mental disorder (adjusted odds ratio 1.89; 1.01-3.55), self-harm (2.31; 1.00-5.33), and suicidal thoughts (2.00; 1.06-3.78). CONCLUSION: Threatening/obscene messaging commonly occurs in the context of intimate partner violence. While often occurring alongside sexual and physical violence, messaging has an additional association with mental disorder and suicidality. Routine enquiry in service settings concerning safety, including those working with people who have escaped domestic violence, should ask about ongoing contact from previous as well as current partners. This should include asking about messaging, as well as other forms of potentially technology-enabled abuse which may become increasingly common.

Adverse childhood experiences of emotional and physical abuse and emotional and behavioral problems: the mediating effects of family function and resilience.

Adverse childhood experiences are a widespread phenomenon that can have a variety of negative effects on children. Emotional and behavioral problems (EBP) in children have been gaining interest in recent years. Therefore, this study aims to explore the association between emotional and physical abuse (EPA) and preschool children's EBP, as well as to assess the mediating effects of family function and resilience in this association. A cross-sectional study was conducted, and we recruited 3,636 participants from 26 kindergartens in three cities. Correlation analysis and regression analysis were used to test the relationships between EPA, mediators (family function and resilience), and EBP. Structural equation modeling was used to perform the mediation analyses. The results of this study showed that EPA predicted EBP in preschool children, family function, and resilience independently and in combination to mediate the relationship. Therefore, improving family function and increasing children's level of resilience are beneficial methods for the prevention and intervention of EBP in preschool children who experience EPA, but most fundamentally to avoid or reduce the occurrence of abuse. Further longitudinal studies are needed to confirm our findings and explore possible mediating mechanisms.

Social Isolation During the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts the Link between Child Abuse and Adolescent Internalizing Problems.

Collective traumas have a notable impact on adolescent well-being. While some youth face increased risk for mental health problems (e.g., those with maltreatment histories), many demonstrate resilience following traumatic events. One contributing factor to well-being following trauma is the degree to which one isolates from others. Accordingly, we examined the association between maltreatment and internalizing problems during the COVID-19 pandemic as moderated by social isolation. Among adolescents reporting pre-pandemic emotional abuse, those experiencing less isolation reported the lowest levels of anxiety symptoms. Among adolescents reporting pre-pandemic physical abuse, those experiencing less isolation reported the greatest levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms. The findings highlight a public health-oriented approach to youth well-being during collective trauma that extends beyond mitigating disease transmission.

Self-Reported Experience of Abuse During the Life Course Among Men Seeking General Psychiatric or Addiction Care-A Prevalence Study in a Swedish Context.

A prevalence study was conducted using the NorVold Abuse Questionnaire for men (m-NorAQ) to estimate the prevalence of self-reported experience of life-course abuse and to identify the perpetrators of the abuse. This among men seeking general psychiatric and addiction care in a Swedish context. In total, 210 men completed the questionnaire, and were included in the study. The total prevalence of life-course abuse (i.e., any emotional, physical or sexual abuse during the life course) was 75% (n = 157). The results of this study indicate the importance of identifying experiences of life-course abuse among men in general psychiatric and addiction care settings.