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The co-existing relationship between child abuse, emotional suppression, interpersonal sensitivity and psychiatric co-morbidity among Chinese prisoners

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Abstract

Whilst child abuse experiences can often be found among prisoners, whether they would co-exist with emotional suppression to influence interpersonal sensitivity and psychiatric co-morbidity is unknown. 428 prisoners from three prisons in Anhui and Guangdong, China, were recruited from January to March 2020. They completed questionnaires measuring child abuse experiences, emotional suppression, interpersonal sensitivity and psychiatric co-morbidity. Latent profile analysis supported a three-profile solution: Profile one prisoners had the highest levels of child abuse with a tendency not to suppress distressing emotions (a high-abuse group). Profile two had the lowest levels of child abuse with a tendency to suppress emotions (a low-abuse group 1). Profile three prisoners were similar to Profile two except that the former experienced significantly higher physical and emotional abuse levels than did profile two (a low-abuse group 2). Profile one showed significantly higher levels of fragile inner self and depression than the other two profiles. They also reported significantly higher levels of interpersonal sensitivity and co-morbid psychiatric symptoms, except social dysfunction, than profile two individuals. Profile three prisoners reported significantly higher levels of most interpersonal sensitivity and co-morbid psychiatric symptoms than profile two individuals. The severity of child abuse experiences and tendency to suppress or express emotional distress can affect levels of interpersonal difficulties and psychological distress among Chinese prisoners.

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  1. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Zilan Ye & Man Cheung Chung

  2. Faculty of Law, Nanjing University, No.22, Hankou Road, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, China

    Xiaohua Di

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The questionnaire and methodology for this study was approved by the Human Research Ethics committee of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Ethics approval number: SBRE-19-262).

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Ye, Z., Chung, M.C. & Di, X. The co-existing relationship between child abuse, emotional suppression, interpersonal sensitivity and psychiatric co-morbidity among Chinese prisoners. Curr Psychol 42, 7389–7396 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02060-4

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