Child abuse and mental disorders in Canada

Background:

Nationally representative Canadian data on the prevalence of child abuse and its relation with mental disorders are lacking. We used contemporary, nationally representative data to examine the prevalence of 3 types of child abuse (physical abuse, sexual abuse and exposure to intimate partner violence) and their association with 14 mental conditions, including suicidal ideation and suicide attempts.

Methods:

We obtained data from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health, collected from the 10 provinces. Respondents aged 18 years and older were asked about child abuse and were selected for the study sample (n = 23 395). The survey had a multistage stratified cluster design (household response rate 79.8%).

Results:

The prevalence of any child abuse was 32% (individual types ranged from 8% to 26%). All types of child abuse were associated with all mental conditions, including suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, after adjustment for sociodemographic variables (adjusted odds ratios ranged from 1.4 to 7.9). We found a dose–response relation, with increasing number of abuse types experienced corresponding with greater odds of mental conditions. Associations between child abuse and attention deficit disorder, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts showed stronger effects for women than men.

Interpretation:

We found robust associations between child abuse and mental conditions. Health care providers, especially those assessing patients with mental health problems, need to be aware of the relation between specific types of child abuse and certain mental conditions. Success in preventing child abuse could lead to reductions in the prevalence of mental disorders, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts.Child abuse is a major public health problem worldwide with serious adverse effects at later ages. The best estimates of the prevalence of child abuse in Canada come from 2 representative samples from Ontario, 1 from 1990 (Ontario Health Supplement, n = 9953, age ≥ 15 yr)1 and 1 from 2000–2001 (Ontario Child Health Study, n = 1893, age 21–35 yr).² The 1990 study indicated that 31% of males and 21% of females had experienced physical child abuse, and 4% of males and 13% of females had experienced sexual child abuse.¹ Similar trends were noted in data collected in 2000–2001.² Prevalence of sexual abuse was found to be higher in the Ontario Child Health Study, but this was thought to be related to the inclusion of sexual abuse committed by anyone (e.g., adolescents), rather than only adults, as was the case with the Ontario Health Supplement.^1,2 Data from Quebec collected in 2006 indicated that 23% of men and 17% of women had experienced physical child abuse; 10% of men and 22% of women had experienced sexual child abuse; and 22% of men and women had experienced psychological child abuse, including exposure to intimate partner violence.^3,4 Unfortunately, these estimates are dated, restricted to only 2 provinces, based on limited assessments of child abuse and, in the case of the Quebec data, involve a low response rate of 30%.Although the association between child abuse and subsequent mental conditions (including disorders, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts) is well established,^5–9 we know little about differential effects associated with several abuse types and specific mental disorders, and we currently have no nationally representative Canadian data. Filling this gap in knowledge would produce evidence-based Canadian findings that could inform policy, prevention and intervention efforts specifically aimed at reducing both child abuse and poor mental health outcomes.Our overall objective was to extend our understanding of the relation between child abuse and mental conditions (i.e., mental disorders, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts)^{6–8,10–19} with a more detailed examination of child abuse severity and mental health outcomes. We used a nationally representative Canadian sample to examine 3 types of child abuse (physical abuse, sexual abuse and exposure to intimate partner violence) and 14 mental conditions, including suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. The specific research objectives were to estimate the prevalence of 3 types of physical abuse, sexual abuse and exposure to intimate partner violence; to examine the association of mental conditions with types of child abuse and number of child abuse types experienced; and to determine whether sex differences exist in the associations between child abuse and mental conditions.