Childhood maltreatment linked with tripled risk of self-harm in young adulthood: Aussie study
Emotional abuse had a greater effect than sexual or physical abuse, the researchers found.
Under-15s who come to the attention of child protection agencies for maltreatment have a threefold higher risk of self-harm or suicidal ideation when aged 25-39, an Australian study suggests.
University of Queensland researchers also found that ED presentations for self-harm or suicidal ideation were more common in patients with reported emotional abuse than in those with reported physical or sexual abuse.
The team looked at nearly 6100 individuals born from 1981 to 1983 and followed up through the long-term Mater-University of Queensland’s Study of Pregnancy.
Child protection notifications were confidentially linked to study participants, which showed 609 patients were subject to child maltreatment reports before the age of 15.
