Does child maltreatment cause mental illness in later life?

Does child maltreatment cause mental illness in later life?

1. Types of abuse

   • Physical abuse 5-10% prevalence
   • Sexual abuse males 4-8% p abuse and 11-16% non-p abuse, females 7-12% p abuse and 23-34% non-p abuse
   • psychological/emotional abuse- 11% prevalence
   • neglect
   • intimate-partner violence

2. predictors of child maltreatment

   • female
   • disabled
   • mixed/multicultural heritage
   • parental characteristics
     • low income
     • low parental education
     • alcohol and drug use
     • mental health problems
     • exposure to maltreatment as a child

3. potential long term consequences of child maltreatment

   • low educational achievement
   • economic consequences
   • crime and violence
   • mental health outcomes
     • increases risk of behaviour problems
     • anxiety/depression
     • PTSD
     • suicide
     • alcohol problems in adolecence and adulthood

4. Epigenetics

   • McGowan et al. found in a post-mortem study that expression of a neuron-specific glucocorticoid receptor in suicide victims. He found that suicide (no abuse) was not significantly different from controls, and that suicide (abused) had significantly lower expression of the gene for the receptor
   • brain changes
     • altered symmetry in frontal lobes and superior temporal gyrus
     • changes in neuronal density
     • reduction of volume in total brain, corpus callosum, amygdala and hippocampus
     • changes in cortisol and noreadrenaline levels