40 percent of mental illnesses are related to child abuse

Resume: Up to 40% of common mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression and substance abuse, result from child abuse. The study estimates that tackling child abuse could prevent more than 1.8 million cases of these disorders.

More specifically, child abuse is responsible for 41% of suicide attempts and 35% of self-harm cases nationally. This comprehensive analysis underlines the urgent need to treat child abuse and neglect as a public health priority, with potential policy interventions to alleviate family stress and support mental health.

Key Facts:

1. Extensive impact: Child abuse contributes significantly to Australia’s mental health problems, affecting key life outcomes such as depression, anxiety and self-harm.
2. Preventive potential: Eradicating child abuse could prevent millions of mental health needs and significantly reduce the number of years lost due to death or disability due to these conditions.
3. Policy recommendations: The study calls for policy-driven prevention measures, including paid parental leave and affordable childcare, to reduce child abuse.

Source: University of Sydney

A study into child abuse in Australia has revealed the shocking burden on Australians, with it estimated to cause up to 40 percent of common lifelong mental health problems.

The mental health problems examined included anxiety, depression, harmful alcohol and drug use, self-harm and suicide attempts. Child abuse is classified as physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and emotional or physical neglect before the age of 18.

Child abuse was found to be responsible for 41 percent of suicide attempts in Australia, 35 percent of self-harm and 21 percent of depression.

The analysis, published in JAMA Psychiatry is the first study to provide estimates of the proportion of mental health problems in Australia arising from child abuse.

The researchers said the results are a wake-up call to treat child abuse and neglect as a national public health priority.

“The results are devastating and represent an urgent call to invest in prevention – not just providing individual support to children and families, but in wider policies to reduce the stress families experience,” said Dr Lucinda Grummitt of Matilda Center of the University of Sydney. led the study.

“Investments to tackle child abuse have the potential to prevent millions of cases of mental illness in Australia.”

The analysis also found that if child abuse were eradicated in Australia, more than 1.8 million cases of depression, anxiety and substance abuse could be prevented.

The study also found that eliminating child abuse in Australia by 2023 would have prevented 66,143 years of life lost (death) and 118,493 years of disability, for a total of 184,636 healthy years of life lost due to mental health problems.

Researchers examined data including national surveys from the Australian Child Maltreatment Study in 2023 (8,500 participants), the Australian National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing 2020-2022 (15,893 participants) and the Australian Burden of Disease study 2023.

The study used analytical methods to examine the link between child abuse and mental health, isolating other influential factors such as genetics or social environment. This provides stronger evidence that child abuse causes certain mental health problems.

Mental health problems are currently the leading cause of disease burden worldwide, affecting 13 percent of the world’s population. In Australia, suicide is the leading cause of death among young people.

Previous research (independent of the University of Sydney study) found that more than half (53.8 percent) of Australians experienced abuse during childhood.

Dr. Grummitt said there are effective interventions, such as programs to support children experiencing abuse or education programs for parents, but that the most sustainable solution to prevent child abuse is policy-driven prevention.

“Policies to alleviate the stress families experience, such as paid parental leave, affordable childcare, income support like Jobseeker, and ensuring parents have access to treatment and support for their own mental health, can make a world of difference to Australian children.

“Addressing the social and economic conditions that give rise to child abuse can play a major role in preventing mental health disorders nationally,” said Dr. Grummitt.

The researchers cite an example from the United States, where the introduction of state paid parental leave policies and timely access to subsidized childcare were strongly associated with reduced child abuse.

About this childhood trauma and mental health research news

Author: Ivy Shih
Source: University of Sydney
Contact: Ivy Shih – University of Sydney
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original research: Closed access.
“Burden of Mental Disorders and Suicide Due to Child Abuse” by Lucinda Grummitt et al. JAMA Psychiatry

Abstract

Suffering from mental disorders and suicide as a result of child abuse

Interest

The share of psychological disorders and burdens that can be causally attributed to child abuse is unknown.

Objectively

To determine the contribution of child abuse to mental health problems in Australia, taking into account genetic and environmental confounds.

Design, setting and participants

This meta-analysis included an epidemiological review that considered genetic and environmental confounds between maltreatment and mental health, and three cross-sectional national surveys: the Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS) 2023, National Study of Mental Health and Well-being 2020 -2022, and Australian Burden of Disease Study 2023.

Causal estimates of the association between child maltreatment and mental illness are derived from a meta-analysis of quasi-experimental studies. This was combined with the maltreatment prevalence from the ACMS to calculate the population attributable fraction (PAF).

The PAF was applied to the number and burden of mental health conditions in Australia, drawn from two population-based, nationally representative surveys of Australians aged 16 to 85 years, to generate the number and associated burden of mental health disorders increasing attributable to child abuse.

Exposure

Physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse or neglect before the age of 18.

Key results and measures

Proportion and number of cases, years of life lost, years lived with disability and disability-adjusted life years of mental health problems (anxiety, depression, harmful alcohol and drug use, self-harm and suicide attempt) attributable to child abuse.

Results

Meta-analytic estimates were generated from 34 studies and 54,646 participants and applied to prevalence estimates of child maltreatment generated from 8503 Australians. Child abuse was responsible for a significant proportion of mental health problems, ranging from 21% (95% CI, 13%-28%) of depression to 41% (95% CI, 27%-54%) of suicide attempts.

More than 1.8 million cases of depression, anxiety and substance use disorders could be prevented if child abuse were eradicated. Maltreatment was responsible for 66,143 years of life lost (95% CI, 43,313-87,314), mainly to suicide, and 184,636 disability-adjusted life years (95% CI, 109,321-252,887).

Conclusions and relevance

This study provides the first estimates of the causal contribution of child abuse to mental health in Australia. The results emphasize the urgency of preventing child abuse to reduce the prevalence and burden of mental disorders in the population.