Citation

Henry KL, Fulco CJ, Merrick MT. Am. J. Public Health 2018; 108(9): 1134-1141.

Affiliation

Kimberly L. Henry is with the Department of Psychology and Colorado School of Public Health, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. Celia J. Fulco is a graduate student in the Department of Psychology at Colorado State University. Melissa T. Merrick is with the Division of Violence Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2018.304635

PMID

30088994

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To examine the effect of maltreatment during childhood on subsequent financial strain during adulthood and the extent to which this effect is mediated by adolescent depressive symptoms, adolescent substance abuse, attenuated educational achievement, and timing of first birth.

METHODS: We specified a multilevel path model to examine the developmental cascade of child maltreatment. We used data from a longitudinal panel study of 496 parents participating in the Rochester Intergenerational Study, in Rochester, New York. Data were collected between 1988 and 2016.

RESULTS: Child maltreatment had both a direct and indirect (via the mediators) effect on greater financial strain during adulthood.

CONCLUSIONS: Maltreatment has the capacity to disrupt healthy development during adolescence and early adulthood and puts the affected individual at risk for economic difficulties later in life. Maltreatment is a key social determinant for health and prosperity, and initiatives to prevent maltreatment and provide mental health and social services to victims are critical.

Language: en