Summary: A new study offers a promising perspective on the mental health of survivors of childhood physical abuse, with nearly two-thirds reporting a state of “psychological development.”
This study highlights the remarkable resilience in this population. However, the study found that survivors still report less psychological development than the general population, emphasizing the need for targeted, trauma-based mental health interventions.
Chronic illness has been identified as a significant factor affecting mental health, further emphasizing the need for a holistic approach to supporting survivors.
Key facts:
- 63% of survivors of childhood physical abuse are in full mental health or “psychological development” status.
- Despite promising findings, survivors of physical abuse still report lower levels of psychological well-being (63%) than the general population (75%).
- Chronic pain has been found to significantly moderate the relationship between physical abuse and overall mental health, indicating the importance of a holistic approach.
Source: University of Toronto
A new study has been published online Evaluation of children and youth services Two-thirds (63%) of adults who experienced childhood physical abuse have full mental health, also known as psychosocial development.
“This is a very promising finding for survivors of childhood physical abuse,” said lead author Isme Fuller Thomson, a professor in the Faculty of Social Work and director of the Life Course and Aging Institute at the University of Toronto.
“Our findings suggest that many individuals with a history of physical abuse experience higher levels of life satisfaction and psychological well-being. These results demonstrate the remarkable resilience among this population.”
Researchers compared a nationally representative sample of 853 Canadians with a history of childhood physical abuse to 17,216 respondents with no history of abuse from Statistics Canada’s Community Health Survey – Mental Health.
To estimate complete mental health, participants had to report: 1) freedom from mental illness (such as substance abuse, depression, anxiety, or suicidality) in the past year, 2) happiness or life satisfaction nearly every day in the past month, and 3) high levels of social and Level of psychological well-being.
Researchers purposely excluded any respondents who had been exposed to childhood sexual abuse or parental domestic violence to account for the negative impact of childhood physical abuse from other, often co-occurring, childhood problems.
While the findings were promising, the study still showed significant psychological growth among those without a history of childhood physical abuse.
“Of the 75 percent of the general population, only 63 percent of those who experienced childhood physical abuse reported having complete mental health,” said Candace Reichman of the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
“We hope these findings will lead to the development of more effective interventions for this population and ultimately increase safety among beneficiaries.”
“Respondents who had been depressed at any point in their lives were significantly less likely to be psychologically developed,” said study co-author Andy McNeill of the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inventash Faculty of Social Work.
“This underscores the importance of trauma-based mental health interventions for this population. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based interventions have strong evidence to improve mental health outcomes in trauma survivors.”
Chronic pain has a significant effect on the relationship between physical abuse and overall mental health.
“Holistic mental health research promotes a more holistic understanding of mental health that goes beyond the presence or absence of mental illness.” says Fuller Thompson.
“When supporting the mental health of survivors of abuse, it is important to consider physical conditions such as chronic pain.”
So mental health research news
Author: Dale Duncan
Source: University of Toronto
Contact: Dale Duncan – University of Toronto
Image: Image credited to Neuroscience News.
Preliminary study: The findings are shown in Evaluation of children and youth services