Citation

Šalčiūnaitė-Nikonovė L, Šmigelskas K, Žemaitaitytė M, Sukovienė G, Šiaulienė I, Vaišvilė A, Zemaitiene N. Child Abuse Rev. 2022; 31(6).

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/car.2782

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Worldwide statistics highlight that many adolescents suffer from various types of maltreatment, which often tend to co-occur in the form of poly-victimisation. The experience of maltreatment at a young age causes physical and mental health problems, and can also lead to self-harm and suicide. The aim: To explore the possible impact of maltreatment and poly-victimisation on adolescent self-harm and suicide attempts. Participants and settings: In total, 1898 students (15-18 years old) from Lithuanian vocational schools completed the survey (65.5% male).

METHOD: The impact of maltreatment and poly-victimisation on self-harm and suicide attempts was tested using multivariable binary logistic regressions.

RESULTS: Different maltreatment types were significantly associated to self-harm (odds ratio from 2.47 to 3.80, p < 0.001) and suicide attempts (odds ratio from 3.15 to 7.58, p < 0.001). The odds ratios for self-harm and suicide attempt increased as the number of different types of maltreatment experienced increased. A history of experiencing four types of poly-victimisation increased adolescent risk for self-harm (OR = 18.57, p < 0.001, 95% CI: 5.77-59.72) and suicide attempts (OR = 45.54, p < 0.001, 95% CI: 14.37-144.28) the most.

CONCLUSION: Adolescents with experience of maltreatment, particularly if poly-victimised, are at greater risk of engaging in self-harming and suicidal behaviours. © 2022 Association of Child Protection Professionals and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Language: en

Keywords

adolescents; self-harm; suicide attempts; maltreatment; poly-victimisation