Experience by children and adolescents of more than one type of maltreatment: Association of different classes of maltreatment profiles with clinical outcome variables

Abstract Most victims of child abuse have experienced more than one type of maltreatment, yet there is a lack of understanding of the impact of specific combinations of types of maltreatment. This study aimed to identify meaningful classes of maltreatment profiles and to associate them with short-te...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child abuse & neglect 2016-07, Vol.57, p.1-11
Main Authors: Witt, Andreas, Münzer, Annika, Ganser, Helene G, Fegert, Jörg M, Goldbeck, Lutz, Plener, Paul L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescents
Antisocial Behavior
Bayes Theorem
Child
Child Abuse
Child abuse & neglect
Child Abuse - classification
Child Abuse - psychology
Child abuse and neglect
Child maltreatment
Child, Preschool
Clinical outcomes
Domestic violence
Emotional abuse
Female
Germany
Humans
Latent class analysis
Male
Multi-type maltreatment
Pediatrics
Profiles
Prognosis
Psychiatry
Psychological outcomes
Psychometrics
Psychopathology
Quality of Life
Sexual Abuse
Sociodemographics
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Summary:Abstract Most victims of child abuse have experienced more than one type of maltreatment, yet there is a lack of understanding of the impact of specific combinations of types of maltreatment. This study aimed to identify meaningful classes of maltreatment profiles and to associate them with short-term clinical outcomes. A total of 358 German children and adolescents aged 4–17 with a known history of child maltreatment were included in the study. Through interviews and questionnaires, information was obtained from participants and their primary caregivers on history of maltreatment, sociodemographics, psychopathology, level of psychosocial functioning, and health-related quality of life. Types of abuse were categorized into six major groups: sexual abuse in general, sexual abuse with penetration, physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and exposure to domestic violence. A latent class analysis (LCA) was performed to determine distinct multi-type maltreatment profiles, which were then assessed for their associations with the sociodemographic and clinical outcome variables. The LCA revealed that participants could be categorized into three meaningful classes according to history of maltreatment: (1) experience of multiple types of maltreatment excluding sexual abuse (63.1%), (2) experience of multiple types of maltreatment including sexual abuse (26.5%), and (3) experience of predominantly sexual abuse (10.3%). Members of Class 2 showed significantly worse short-term outcomes on psychopathology, level of functioning, and quality of life compared to the other classes. Three distinct profiles of multiple types of maltreatment were empirically identified in this sample. Exposure to multiple types of abuse was associated with poorer outcomes.
ISSN:0145-2134
1873-7757
DOI:10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.05.001