2008 Brain Star Award Recipient - Tracie Afifi
Recipient
Tracie Afifi - Biosketch
PhD (Community Health Sciences)
University of Manitoba
Article
Afifi, T.O., Enns, M.W., Cox, B.J., de Graaf, R., ten Have, M., & Sareen, J. (2007). Child Abuse and Health-Related Quality of Life in Adulthood. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 195, 797-804.
Significance of the paper
Past research has indicated that child abuse can have a negative impact on mental and physical health outcomes (1-3). In addition, mental and physical health conditions have been associated with decreased health-related quality of life (4-6). However, little is known about the independent relationship between child abuse and reduced health-related quality of life in adulthood after adjusting for the impact of physical health conditions and psychiatric disorders.
The present study demonstrated that childhood neglect, psychological abuse, physical abuse, severe sexual abuse, and number of types of child abuse experienced were associated with reduced mental health-related quality of life in adulthood after adjusting for the effects of sociodemographic variables and numerous psychiatric disorders and physical health conditions. Childhood psychological abuse, physical abuse, and number of types of child abuse experienced were associated with reduced physical health-related quality of life in adulthood after adjusting for the effects of sociodemographic variables and numerous psychiatric disorders and physical health conditions.
The current results indicate that child abuse is and important determinant of health-related quality of life. These findings have significant implications. On a population level, the current findings imply that broad social interventions that reduce child abuse may have a beneficial impact on health-related quality of life in the general population. Efforts to identify effective prevention strategies that reduce incidence and recurrence of child abuse need to be supported (7). If child abuse does occur, early intervention to reduce effects of abuse on psychiatric functioning is also important for later health-related quality of life. On a clinical level, inquiry of child abuse may help inform clinicians regarding treatment efforts to improve a patient’s health-related quality of life.