Child abuse and neglect in institutional settings, cumulative lifetime traumatization, and psychopathological long-term correlates in adult survivors: The Vienna Institutional Abuse Study

Autor(en)
Brigitte Lueger-Schuster, Matthias Knefel, Tobias Glück, Reinhold Jagsch, Viktoria Kantor, Dina Weindl
Abstrakt

Child maltreatment (CM) in foster care settings (i.e., institutional abuse, IA) is known to have negative effects on adult survivor’s mental health. This study examines and compares the extent of CM (physical, emotional, and sexual abuse; physical and emotional neglect) and lifetime traumatization with regard to current adult mental health in a group of survivors of IA and a comparison group from the community. Participants in the foster care group (n = 220) were adult survivors of IA in Viennese foster care institutions, the comparison group (n = 234) consisted of persons from the Viennese population. The comparison group included persons who were exposed to CM within their families. Participants completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5, the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, the International Trauma Questionnaire for ICD-11, and the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 and completed a structured clinical interview. Participants in the foster care group showed higher scores in all types of CM than the comparison group and 57.7% reported exposure to all types of CM. The foster care group had significantly higher prevalence rates in almost all mental disorders including personality disorders and suffered from higher symptom distress in all dimensional measures of psychopathology including depression, anxiety, somatization, dissociation, and the symptom dimensions of PTSD. In both groups, adult life events and some but not all forms of CM predicted PTSD and adult life events partly mediated the association of PTSD and CM. Explanations for the severe consequences of CM and IA are discussed.

Organisation(en)
Institut für Klinische und Gesundheitspsychologie
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect
Band
76
Seiten
488-501
Anzahl der Seiten
14
ISSN
0145-2134
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.12.009
Publikationsdatum
02-2018
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
501010 Klinische Psychologie
Schlagwörter
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Psychiatry and Mental health, Developmental and Educational Psychology, Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 16 – Frieden, Gerechtigkeit und starke Institutionen, SDG 3 – Gesundheit und Wohlergehen
Link zum Portal
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/e2cfc484-7875-48ee-b786-a30f4379d0f3