Violence, a risk factor for poor mental health in adolescence: a Danish nationally representative youth survey

Violence exposure and young people's vulnerability, mental and physical health

Objectives

To analyse the impact of being affected by domestic and/or relationship violence in early adolescence on indicators of health and well-being.

Methods

Secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional survey of 13–14 year-old pupils attending schools in north-west England, with variables relating to vulnerability, violence and mental and physical health, was performed. The sample of 9626 represented 71% of the eligible population. Chi-squared tests and logistic regression were used to analyse demographic exposure to violence and outcomes.

Results

Pupils affected by domestic and/or relationship violence had significantly worse outcomes and experiences than non-affected peers. Odds ratios demonstrated higher risks of being lonely, being bullied or having deliberately self-harmed. They were also more likely to report an enduring health condition, poorer health practices and worse access to and experiences of health services.

Conclusions

Exposure to violence in domestic and/or relationships is detrimental to children and young people’s mental and physical health and vulnerability. Health risks and inequalities reported by CYP in this study provide compelling intelligence for renewed strategic policy-level consideration in the design and delivery of young peoples’ health services.

Youth self-report of child maltreatment in representative surveys: a systematic review

INTRODUCTION

This systematic review identified population-representative youth surveys containing questions on self-reported child maltreatment. Data quality and ethical issues pertinent to maltreatment data collection were also examined.

METHODS

A search was conducted of relevant online databases for articles published from January 2000 through March 2016 reporting on population-representative data measuring child maltreatment. Inclusion criteria were established a priori; two reviewers independently assessed articles to ensure that the criteria were met and to verify the accuracy of extracted information.

RESULTS

A total of 73 articles reporting on 71 surveys met the inclusion criteria. A variety of strategies to ensure accurate information and to mitigate survey participants' distress were reported.

CONCLUSION

The extent to which efforts have been undertaken to measure the prevalence of child maltreatment reflects its perceived importance across the world. Data on child maltreatment can be effectively collected from youth, although our knowledge of best practices related to ethics and data quality is incomplete.

Reliability and Validity of the Early Trauma Inventory Self Report-Short Form among Korean Adolescents

Objectives:

Experiencing early childhood trauma is related to multiple psychiatric problems in adolescents and adulthood. This study aimed to examine the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Early Trauma Inventory Self Report-Short Form (ETISR-SF) among Korean adolescents.

Methods:

A total of 86 adolescents aged 12–17 years (mean age 14.50±1.35 years, range 12–17) were assessed using the ETISR-SF. Other instruments, including the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI), the revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS), and the List of Threatening Experiences Questionnaire (LTE-Q), were used to assess clinical symptoms. After 2 months, 51 of the 86 participants were evaluated using the ETISR-SF to assess test-retest reliability.

Results:

The Cronbach’s coefficient alpha for the ETISR-SF was high (0.803). Adolescents with depressive disorder showed higher ETISR-SF scores compared to healthy controls. The ETISR-SF scores were correlated higher with the scores on the LTE-Q (r=0.485) than with the scores on the CDI or RCMAS (r=0.165 and 0.347, respectively).

Conclusion:

The ETISR-SF was temporally stable, showing acceptable reliability (r=0.776). These findings suggest that the Korean version of the ETISR-SF appears to be a reliable and valid instrument for the measurement of reported childhood trauma.

Youth violence and mental health: repeating exposures

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discover and describe salient repeating and less common features of the recent medical literature about youth violence as it relates to mental health. How the relationship between youth violence and mental health is commonly conceptualized, investigated, and reported is summarized. Negative cases, unique approaches, and concepts are discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

An Ovid Medline literature search was conducted with the search parameters of “adolescent and violence” and “psychiatry or psychology or mental health.” In total, 66 articles met inclusion criteria and were analyzed using grounded theory procedures and techniques.

Findings

In all, 49 articles were reports of original research, 14 were literature reviews, and three were editorials. The articles included discussions of youth violence and mental health among young people in 49 countries. Most original research used cross-sectional designs that tested and supported the core hypothesis that greater exposure to violence is associated with more mental health issues. The relationship is robust even though characterizations of “exposure to violence” and “mental health” were highly variable. Meta-analytic and intervention studies were rare.

Originality/value

The core feature of the last decade of medical research has been the repeated testing and confirmation that a relationship between exposure to violence and mental health exists. Future youth violence research should move beyond continuing to test this hypothesis with cross-sectional study designs.

Inadequate Sleep as a Mediating Variable between Exposure to Interparental Violence and Depression Severity in Adolescents

Exposure to violence, including interparental and peer dating violence, is a public health concern associated with negative outcomes, including depression. However, little is known about mechanisms by which exposure to violence influences depressive symptoms. One factor that may help explain this association is problematic sleep. This study sought to determine whether short sleep duration mediates the relationship between exposure to violence (interparental and peer dating violence) and depressive symptoms. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the mediating role of short sleep duration from a 3-year longitudinal study of 1,042 high school students. Results demonstrated interparental violence was negatively related to sleep duration (friends dating violence was not), and sleep duration negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Adolescents exposed to violence between their parents obtained less sleep on school nights. In turn, they reported more depressive symptoms. Short sleep duration mediated the relationship between exposure to interparental violence and depression severity.

Developmental variations in the impact of intimate partner violence exposure during childhood

BACKGROUND

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive problem impacting individuals around the globe. The consequences of IPV extend beyond the adults in the relationship, as children witness a significant proportion of such violence. Exposure to IPV during childhood has devastating effects across multiple domains of functioning.

METHODS

This article reviews empirical studies of the effects of exposure to IPV by developmental stage.

RESULTS

The psychological, social, physical, and cognitive consequences of witnessing IPV are examined across development; from the impact of prenatal exposure to effects in infancy and toddlerhood, the preschool years, school-aged children, and adolescence.

CONCLUSIONS

The review concludes by providing suggestions for future research based on the identified developmental variations, recommendations for developmentally-sensitive interventions for children who have witnessed IPV, and directions for policy to address the issue of violence exposure early in the lives of children.

Previous maltreatment and present mental health in a high-risk adolescent population

Childhood maltreatment is known to increase the risk of future psychiatric disorders. In the present study, we explored the impact of experienced maltreatment on the prevalence and comorbidity of psychiatric disorders in a high-risk population of adolescents in residential care units. We also studied the impact of poly-victimization. The participants of the study were adolescents in residential care units in Norway (n=335, mean age 16.8 years, girls 58.5%). A diagnostic interview (Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment Interview) was used, yielding information about previous maltreatment (witnessing violence, victim of family violence, community violence, sexual abuse) and DSM-IV diagnoses present in the last three months. Exposure to maltreatment was reported by 71%, and in this group, we found significantly more Asperger's syndrome (AS) (p=.041), conduct disorder (CD) (p=.049), major depressive disorder (MDD) (p=.001), dysthymia (p=.030), general anxiety disorder (GAD) (p<.001), and having attempted suicide (p=.006). We found significantly more comorbid disorders in the maltreated group. Poly-victimization was studied by constructing a scale comprised of witnessing violence, victim of family violence, victim of sexual abuse and household dysfunction. We found that poly-victimization was associated with significantly increased risk of MDD, GAD, AS, CD, and having attempted suicide (p<.01). The complexity of the clinical outcomes revealed in this study suggest that longer-term treatment plans and follow-up by psychiatric services might be needed to a greater extend than for the rest of the child and adolescent population, and that trauma informed care is essential for adolescents in residential youth care.