Liu J, Deng J, Zhang H, Tang X. The relationship between child maltreatment and social anxiety: A meta-analysis.
J Affect Disord 2023;
329:157-167. [PMID:
36841306 DOI:
10.1016/j.jad.2023.02.081]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/26/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Globally, child maltreatment has become a serious problem, affecting individuals' physical and mental health. This meta-analysis aimed to explore the association between child maltreatment and social anxiety.
METHODS
MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for articles published by October 2021. Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOS) was used to evaluate the quality of studies. Maltreatment type, sample setting, age, country and measurement instruments were analyzed as moderators.
RESULTS
Twenty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria. Child maltreatment was positively correlated with social anxiety (r = 0.201, 95 % CI [0.171, 0.230]). The moderating effect of maltreatment subtypes was significant whether divided into three types (Qb = 12.152, p = .002), or five types (Qb = 11.574, p = .021). Specifically, emotional maltreatment (r = 0.251, 95 % CI [0.201, 0.298]) had a stronger relationship with social anxiety than physical (r = 0.138, 95 % CI [0.085, 0.191]; Qb = 9.312, p = .002) and sexual maltreatment (r = 0.153, 95 % CI [0.108, 0.197]; Qb = 9.197, p = .002). However, there was no significant difference in the effect size between physical and sexual maltreatment (Qb = 0.096, p = .757). Other variables (age, sample setting and country) were not significant moderators.
LIMITATIONS
Only twenty-nine studies were included, and there was high heterogeneity among the studies, the interpretation of the results should be cautious.
CONCLUSIONS
This meta-analysis confirmed the relationship between child maltreatment and social anxiety, especially highlight the harmfulness of emotional maltreatment.
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