Research into Effects of Child Maltreatment on Males

Hi everyone. We hope your weekend was restful and you were able to view "Wrestling Ghosts" after we shared this Watch Party opportunity last week.

Since we wanted you to have the chance to catch the documentary, we deferred our usual "Food for Thought Friday" post (based on a research article to review) to today, Monday

While it is USA-based, this paper looks at how child maltreatment, especially child sexual abuse impacts males into adulthood. This is a very under-served area of study both in North America and the Caribbean. Often, research into the effect of sexual abuse in childhood has focused on women and girls. This may be to long-standing taboos over discussing the sexual abuse of males.

Sarah Turner and her colleagues from the University of Manitoba conducted the research based on US respondents, drawing upon the 2004–2005 National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) and limited to males age 20 years old and older (n = 14,564).

Their work, "The relationship between childhood sexual abuse and mental health outcomes among males: Results from a nationally representative United States sample", is published in "Current issues in child sexual abuse, gender and health outcomes: Part II" in the journal Child Abuse and Neglect (Vol 66 - April 2017). An Abstract from their work is below.

Background

Few studies have examined the associations between childhood sexual abuse (CSA), co-occurrence with other types of maltreatment and adult mental health outcomes, specifically among males. The objectives of this study were to: 1) determine the prevalence of males who have experienced a) childhood maltreatment without CSA; b) CSA without other forms of childhood maltreatment; and c) CSA along with other forms of childhood maltreatment; and 2) determine the relationship between CSA among males and mood, anxiety, substance and personality disorders and suicide attempts.

Methods

Data were drawn from the 2004–2005 National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) and limited to males age 20 years old and older (n = 14,564). Child maltreatment included harsh physical punishment, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, physical neglect and exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV).

Results

Emotional abuse, physical abuse, and exposure to IPV were the most common forms of maltreatment that co-occurred with CSA among males. A history of CSA only, and CSA co-occurring with other types of child maltreatment, resulted in higher odds for many mental disorders and suicide attempts compared to a history of child maltreatment without CSA.

Conclusions

Child maltreatment is associated with increased odds of mental disorders among males. Larger effects were noted for many mental disorders and suicide attempts for males who experienced CSA with or without other child maltreatment types compared to those who did not experience CSA. These results are important for understanding the significant long-term effects of CSA among males.

[To read "The relationship between childhood sexual abuse and mental health outcomes among males: Results from a nationally representative United States sample", please visit - https://www.sciencedirect.com/...ii/S0145213417300297 adn download the free PDF.]

In cultures of machismo like those of many Caribbean jurisdictions, such studies need to be conducted so that we can be more aware of the prevalence of child maltreatment, especially of child sexual abuse, among our region's boys.

We already have high rates of suicide and self-harm among our males. With the evidence to support changes in policy and drive funding of effective programmes, we can turn this situation around.