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Does substantiated childhood maltreatment lead to poor quality of life in young adulthood? Evidence from an Australian birth cohort study

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Abstract

Purpose

To examine the independent effect of single and multiple forms of substantiated childhood maltreatment (CM) on quality of life (QoL), controlling for selected potential confounders and/or covariates, and concurrent depressive symptoms.

Methods

We used data from a prospective pre-birth cohort of 8556 mothers recruited consecutively during their first antenatal clinic visit at the Mater Hospital from 1981 to 1983 in Brisbane, Australia. The data were linked to substantiated cases of CM reported to the child protection government agency up to the age of 14 years. The sample consisted of 3730 (49.7% female) young adults for whom there were complete data on QoL at the 21-year follow-up. The mean age of participants was 20.6 years. Logistic regression models were used to assess the association between CM and QoL measured at the 21-year follow-up.

Results

There were statistically significant associations between exposure to substantiated CM and poorer QoL. This also applied to the subcategories of childhood physical abuse, childhood emotional abuse (CEA), and neglect. These associations were generally stable after adjusting for confounders/covariates and concurrent depressive symptoms, except physical abuse. CEA with or without neglect significantly and particularly predicted worse subsequent QoL.

Conclusions

Exposure to any substantiated maltreatment substantially contributed to worse QoL in young adulthood, with a particular association with CEA and neglect. Prior experiences of CM may have a substantial association with subsequent poorer QoL.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to extend our acknowledgments to the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy mother–child pairs, the research team, National Health and Medical Research Council, and Australian Research Council for subsequent funding of the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy. We are also grateful to the International Postgraduate Scholarships of the Australian government and The University of Queensland for sponsoring the principal author of the study.

Funding

The Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council and Australian Research Council (NHMRC Grant #1009460), and the principal investigator is in receipt of an International Postgraduate Research and The University of Queensland Centennial Scholarships. The funding sources had no roles in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the report.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston, 887, Public Health Building, Level 1, Brisbane, QLD, 4006, Australia

    Amanuel Alemu Abajobir & Gail Williams

  2. School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, SOMSouthern-Psychiatry-Princess Alexandra Hospital, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, QLD, 4102, Australia

    Steve Kisely

  3. Departments of Psychiatry, Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada

    Steve Kisely

  4. Department of Paediatrics, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

    Lane Strathearn

  5. School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, QLD, 4006, Australia

    Alexandra Clavarino

  6. School of Social Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Jake Moses Najman

  7. Queensland Alcohol and Drug Research and Education Centre, The University of Queensland, Herston, Brisbane, QLD, 4006, Australia

    Jake Moses Najman

Authors
  1. Amanuel Alemu Abajobir
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  2. Steve Kisely
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  3. Gail Williams
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amanuel Alemu Abajobir.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflict of interests.

Ethical approval

The Mater Hospital-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy has been approved by the Human Ethics Review Committee of the University of Queensland and Mater Hospital. Further ethical approval has also been obtained from the Human Ethics Review Committee of the University of Queensland to link substantiated childhood maltreatment data to the 21-year follow-up of the Mater Hospital-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy.

Informed consent

Parents provided consent up to the age of 14 years. Written informed consent was obtained from all study participants at the 21-year follow-up.

Appendix: Items involved in QoL measurement

Appendix: Items involved in QoL measurement

Items

Response options

How satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days? What would you say you are?

1. Very satisfied

2. Satisfied

3. Dissatisfied

4. Very dissatisfied

How would you say you feel these days? Would you say you are:

1. Very happy

2. Fairly happy

3. Not too happy

4. Very unhappy

I feel lonely

1. Not true

2. Somewhat or sometimes true

3. Very true or often true

I worry about my future

1. Not true

2. Somewhat or sometimes true

3. Very true or often true

I feel worthless or inferior

1. Not true

2. Somewhat or sometimes true

3. Very true or often true

I worry a lot

1. Not true

2. Somewhat or sometimes true

3. Very true or often true

The inter-item correlation, α = 0.80

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Abajobir, A.A., Kisely, S., Williams, G. et al. Does substantiated childhood maltreatment lead to poor quality of life in young adulthood? Evidence from an Australian birth cohort study. Qual Life Res 26, 1697–1702 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-017-1517-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-017-1517-5

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