Child abuse affects mental health of men and women differently

Men and women are affected very differently by childhood trauma, according to a new international study led by Maastricht University (UM). Women with psychological problems in later life are more likely to have experienced emotional trauma and sexual abuse as children, while men’s mental-health problems are more likely to result from emotional and physical neglect during childhood. The researchers presented these striking findings yesterday during the European Congress of Psychiatry in Paris.

Mental health

This is the first time gender-specific influences of childhood neglect have been demonstrably linked to psychological problems in later life. An international team of researchers from the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States analysed data on childhood trauma from 791 volunteers. The volunteers were also tested for current psychological problems, including phobias, anxiety and depression. This allowed the researchers to associate the type of childhood trauma with the symptoms experienced by the same individuals as adults.

The findings showed that emotional abuse in childhood leads to serious psychological consequences in both men and women, but this association is around twice as strong in women than in men. In contrast, childhood neglect-be it physical or emotional-was associated with later mental-health problems in men, but not in women.

Childhood trauma

Child abuse is a widespread problem: approximately one third of all psychiatric disorders worldwide are thought to be related to childhood trauma. "It’s difficult to gather accurate statistics, but a 2016 systematic review suggested that up to 50% of children worldwide had experienced trauma in the previous year. And childhood trauma is an important preventable risk factor for psychological problems," says Sinan Gülöksüz, a senior researcher at UM. "The main message here is that exposure to child abuse significantly increases the risk of mental-health problems in both men and women."

That childhood trauma is a risk factor for psychiatric disorders has been known for some time, but not with such gender-specific characteristics. "Identifying gender-specific aspects in the impact of trauma on later psychological problems can be very valuable for research on the underlying mechanisms of resilience and vulnerability," says Bart Rutten, co-researcher and UM professor of Psychiatry. "In the long term, this will contribute to a more patient-oriented approach to treatment."

This research is supported by the project YOUTH-GEMs: Gene Environment interactions in Mental health trajectories of Youth, funded by the EU’s Horizon Europe Programme under grant number 101057182.

Hillis S, Mercy J, Amobi A, Kress H. Global Prevalence of Past-year Violence Against Children: A Systematic Review and Minimum Estimates. Pediatrics 2016; 137(3):e20154079. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds­.2015-4079