The hallmarks of childhood abuse and neglect: a systematic review

Lang, J., Kerr, D. M., Petri-Romão, P., McKee, T., Smith, H., Wilson, N., Zavrou, M., Shiels, P. and Minnis, H. (2020) The hallmarks of childhood abuse and neglect: a systematic review. PLoS ONE, 15(12), e0243639. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243639) (PMID:33290423) (PMCID:PMC7723263)

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Abstract

Background: Studies on the impacts of child maltreatment (CM) have been conducted in diverse areas. Mechanistic understanding of the complex interplay between factors is lacking. Hallmarking is an approach which identifies common factors across studies and highlights the most robust findings. Objectives: In a review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, we addressed the following questions: 1) What are the hallmarks associated with exposure to CM across the bio-ecological spectrum? 2) What is the strength of evidence to support each hallmark? 3) What are the gaps that future research should address? Methods: A comprehensive literature search was carried out to find relevant systematic reviews or meta-analyses. 269 articles were read in full and 178 articles, encompassing more than 6000 original papers, were included in the final synthesis. All reviews were independently rated for quality by at least 2 reviewers using AMSTAR-2. Results: Of 178 review articles, 6 were rated as high quality (all meta-analyses) and 46 were rated as medium quality. Most were from high income countries. Conclusions: Based on the most commonly reported high-quality research findings we propose that the hallmarks of exposure to child maltreatment are: Increased risk of psychopathology; Increased risk of obesity; Increased risk of high- risk sexual behaviours, Increased risk of smoking; and Increased risk of child maltreatment in children with disabilities. Research gaps include a lack of focus on complexity and resilience. Little can be concluded about directions of causality or mechanisms. Adequately powered prospective studies are required to move the field forward.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Smith, Dr Helen and Minnis, Professor Helen and Kerr, Dr Daniel and Wilson, Dr Naomi and Lang, Dr Jason
Creator Roles:
Lang, J.Conceptualization, Data curation, Methodology, Project administration, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing
Kerr, D.Conceptualization, Data curation, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing
Smith, H.Methodology, Writing – review and editing
Wilson, N.Methodology, Writing – review and editing
Minnis, H.Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing – review and editing
Authors: Lang, J., Kerr, D. M., Petri-Romão, P., McKee, T., Smith, H., Wilson, N., Zavrou, M., Shiels, P., and Minnis, H.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cancer Sciences
College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > General Practice and Primary Care
College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Mental Health and Wellbeing
Journal Name:PLoS ONE
Publisher:Public Library of Science
ISSN:1932-6203
ISSN (Online):1932-6203
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2020 The Authors
First Published:First published in PLoS ONE 15(12):e0243639
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
304782Pain Perception in Looked After Young People with Self-HarmHelen MinnisMedical Research Council (MRC)PCCBACR-PNWBANRHW - Mental Health and Wellbeing