Childhood Maltreatment and Its Long-Term Psychosocial Outcomes: An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses.
Linruo Zhang, Li Hu, Pui Hing Chau et al.
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In 30 seconds
This umbrella review synthesized meta-analyses of childhood maltreatment and psychosocial outcomes, searching 11 databases through December 24, 2024. It included 25 meta-analyses covering 31 outcomes and 1,288,971 participants. Associations were reported across multiple maltreatment subtypes and outcomes, with odds ratios ranging from 1.07 to 12.47 for any childhood abuse. The strongest evidence was for an association between emotional neglect and suicide attempts; evidence quality was otherwise deficient, and no maltreatment subtype showed evidence of a stronger overall impact.
Key findings
- Any childhood abuse was associated with 16 psychosocial outcomes, with odds ratios ranging from 1.07 to 12.47.
- The strongest evidence supported an association between emotional neglect and suicide attempts.
- No evidence indicated that any childhood maltreatment subtype had a stronger impact than the others.
- Assuming causality, population-attributable risk fractions ranged from -4.28% for sexual function to 26.82% for nonsuicidal self-injury.
Why it matters
The review maps a broad literature linking childhood maltreatment with psychosocial outcomes, while showing that the strength and credibility of much of the evidence remain uncertain. This distinction matters when interpreting associations for prevention and clinical assessment: the findings identify areas of concern, but do not establish that maltreatment caused each outcome or that subtype-specific effects differ.
What to keep in mind
The review found deficient high-quality evidence and fragmented, inconsistent underlying meta-analytic evidence. Its conclusions depend on the quality and methods of the included meta-analyses.