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Meta-Analysis
. 2024 Aug 1;81(8):769-781.
doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.0818.

Prospective and Retrospective Measures of Child Maltreatment and Their Association With Psychopathology: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Jessie R Baldwin  1   2 , Oonagh Coleman  1 , Emma R Francis  2 , Andrea Danese  1   3   4
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Prospective and Retrospective Measures of Child Maltreatment and Their Association With Psychopathology: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Jessie R Baldwin et al. JAMA Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Importance: Prospective and retrospective measures of childhood maltreatment identify largely different groups of individuals. However, it is unclear if these measures are differentially associated with psychopathology.

Objective: To analyze the associations of prospective and retrospective measures of childhood maltreatment with psychopathology.

Data sources: Based on a preregistered protocol, Embase, PsycInfo, and MEDLINE were searched for peer-reviewed studies published by January 1, 2023, that measured the associations of prospective and retrospective measures of child maltreatment with psychopathology.

Study selection: Titles and abstracts of all articles captured by the search and full texts of potentially eligible studies were independently screened by 2 authors. Observational studies with measures of the association of prospective and retrospective measures of childhood maltreatment with psychopathology were included.

Data extraction and synthesis: Multiple investigators independently extracted data. Multilevel random-effects meta-analyses were used to pool the results and test predictors of heterogeneity.

Main outcome and measures: Associations between prospective or retrospective measures of child maltreatment and psychopathology, both unadjusted and adjusted (ie, the association between prospective measures of maltreatment and psychopathology adjusted for retrospective measures, and vice versa), and moderation of these associations by preselected variables.

Results: The meta-analyses were based on 24 studies including 15 485 individuals (51.0% female; mean age, 21.3 years at retrospective report). Retrospective measures of childhood maltreatment showed stronger associations with psychopathology relative to prospective measures in both unadjusted analyses (retrospective measures: odds ratio [OR], 2.21; 95%, 1.94-2.42 vs prospective measures: OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.39-1.76) and adjusted analyses (retrospective measures: OR, 2.14; 95% CI, 1.90-2.42 vs prospective measures: OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.13-1.41). There was no statistically significant moderation of the unadjusted or adjusted associations between prospective measures of child maltreatment and psychopathology. The associations between retrospective measures and psychopathology were stronger when the assessment of psychopathology was based on self-reports and was focused on internalizing or emotional disorders.

Conclusions and relevance: Psychopathology is more strongly associated with retrospective measures-which capture the first-person, subjective appraisal of childhood events reflected in memory recall-compared to prospective measures-which essentially capture third-person accounts of such events. Maltreatment-related psychopathology may be driven by subjective interpretations of experiences, distressing memories, and associated schemas, which could be targeted by cognitive interventions.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Danese reported he is the grant holder for a PhD studentship to Oonagh Coleman, MSc, from the Mental Health Research UK “Understanding Risk and Building Mental Health Resilience After Childhood Psychological Trauma: Focus on the Subjective Experience,” October, 1, 2021, through September 30, 2025. No other disclosures were reported.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Associations of Prospective and Retrospective Measures of Child Maltreatment With Psychopathology
The forest plots depict the mean associations of prospective and retrospective measures of child maltreatment with psychopathology in unadjusted and adjusted analyses. For clarity of presentation, forest plots show a single effect size per study (reflecting the mean of all individual effect sizes obtained from each study). The mean effect size per study and its variance were calculated using the MAd package in R (R Foundation).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Moderation Analyses for the Associations of Prospective and Retrospective Measures of Maltreatment With Psychopathology
ACEs indicates adverse childhood experiences.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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