IMPACT OF CHILD ABUSE ON THE PREVALENCE OF MENTAL DISORDERS IN CHILEAN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

Abstract

Introduction: Poor mental health is strongly associated with interpersonal violence. Child abuse is a cultural and global public health problem that violates children’s rights. Objective: To examine the relation between experience of abuse and presence of mental disorders in children and adolescents. Materials and methods: Quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional analytical study, aimed at Chilean children and adolescents. The sample consisted of 1558 participants who were between 4 and 18 years old. The data-collection instrument included the Structured Diagnostic Interview for Children, computerized version DISC-IV, a child abuse questionnaire and sociodemographic data. Statistical analysis was performed by logistic regression using the R program version 3. Results: In the group of children, prevalent and sub-threshold anxiety and disruptive disorders were related to sexual abuse, psychological and physical abuse. In the adolescent group, mood disorders were associated with psychological and sexual abuse; prevalent and sub-threshold disorders were associated with all types of abuse, and drug use disorder was associated with sexual abuse. Conclusion: There is a significant relationship between abuse in its different categories, especially sexual abuse, and the occurrence of mental disorders in children and adolescents. It is important to detect early sub-threshold levels in order to try to solve the problem, educate the population, and have less violent communities and quiet environments for the growth of children and adolescents.