Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Aug;24(4):353-63.
doi: 10.1017/S2045796014000274. Epub 2014 May 1.

Evaluation of sex differences in health-related quality of life outcomes associated with child abuse: Results from the Ontario Child Health Study

M Tanaka  1 , T O Afifi  2 , C N Wathen  3 , M H Boyle  1 , H L MacMillan  1
Affiliations

Evaluation of sex differences in health-related quality of life outcomes associated with child abuse: Results from the Ontario Child Health Study

M Tanaka et al. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2015 Aug.

Abstract

Aims: Despite the advances in child maltreatment research, there is still the need for comprehensive information about how abuse affects a broad range of categories of young adult functioning, and the extent to which these vary by sex. We examined the associations between child physical abuse (PA) and sexual abuse (SA) and six areas of functioning (mental health, physical health, life satisfaction, illegal substance use, alcohol problems and daily smoking).

Methods: Data were obtained from the 1983 Ontario Child Health Study and follow-up in 2000/2001 (n = 1893). Multilevel regression estimated the adjusted associations for PA (with severity) and SA with each of the outcomes. Estimates with an entire sample were presented with sex-by-abuse interactions to examine sex differences and then presented separately by sex.

Results: In the adjusted model, severe PA and SA were associated with impairment in mental health, and both forms of PA (severe and non-severe) and SA were associated with low life satisfaction. In addition, severe PA was associated with illegal substance use. Child abuse variables were not associated with poor physical health, alcohol problems or smoking. Although sex-stratified analyses revealed different patterns, there was no significant sex difference in the integrated sample.

Conclusions: This is among the first community-based studies to show a strong association between child PA and SA and low life satisfaction in young adults. The abuse effects were similar for both sexes.

Keywords: Child physical abuse; child sexual abuse; quality of life; sex difference.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Afifi TO, Enns MW, Cox BJ, de Graaf R, ten Have M, Sareen J (2007). Child abuse and health-related quality of life in adulthood. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 195, 797–804. - PubMed
    1. Afifi TO, Henriksen CA, Asmundson GJ, Sareen J (2012). Childhood maltreatment and substance use disorders among men and women in a nationally representative sample. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 57, 677–686. - PubMed
    1. Allen JP, Litten RZ, Fertig JB, Babor T (1997). A review of research on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research 21, 613–619. - PubMed
    1. Anda RF, Croft JB, Felitti VJ, Nordenberg D, Giles WH, Williamson DF, Giovino GA (1999). Adverse childhood experiences and smoking during adolescence and adulthood. Journal of the American Medical Association 282, 1652–1658. - PubMed
    1. Babor T, Higgins-Biddle J, Saunders J, Monteiro M (2001). Guidelines for Use in Primary Health Care, 2nd edn. Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence, World Health Organization: Geneva.