The impact of childhood abuse history and domestic violence on the mental health of women in Japan☆
Introduction
Child abuse is an emerging problem in Japan (Fujiwara, 2007). An estimated 35,000 children are abused annually, which is 1.54 cases per 1,000 children aged 0 through 17 years (Kobayashi, 2002). Previous studies have shown a link between child abuse history (CAH) and mental health consequences when the victim becomes an adult (Beitchman et al., 1992, Dykman et al., 1997, Horwitz et al., 2001, MacMillan et al., 2001, Reinherz et al., 2003, Widom, 1999, Widom et al., 2007). It is also considered that the impact of child abuse on mental health problems varies by the type of abuse (i.e., physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and psychological abuse) (Bensley, Van Eenwyk, & Wynkoop Simmons, 2003).
Domestic violence (DV) is another emerging issue in Japan. The estimated rate of DV is 14.3% among women by the age of 30 years (Yoshihama, Horrocks, & Kamano, 2007). A recent international study on DV showed that during the past 12 months, the prevalence rate of DV in Japan parallels those of Western countries (Garcia-Moreno, Jansen, Ellsberg, Heise, & Watts, 2006). In accordance with the increased recognition of DV in Japan, legislation to protect DV victims was enacted in the year 2000 (Domestic Violence Prevention Act [Law No. 31]) and amended in 2004 to include post-divorce partner violence. Numerous studies have reported that DV has a significant impact on mental health problems, especially depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Bland and Orn, 1986, Campbell et al., 1997, Campbell, 2002, Cascardi et al., 1999, Gleason, 1993, Golding, 1999, Jaffe et al., 1986, Kaslow et al., 1998, McCauley et al., 1995, Ratner, 1993, Silva et al., 1997, Thompson et al., 2000).
Previous studies have shown the link between CAH and DV; that is, women with CAH are more likely to be victims of DV (Bell and Chance-Hill, 1991, Bensley et al., 2003, Browne, 1993, Coid et al., 2001, Wingood and DiClemente, 1996, Wyatt et al., 2000), because CAH violates expectations of relationships with loved ones (Wyatt et al., 2000). Thus, the reported association between DV and mental health problems might be confounded by CAH. However, few studies have investigated the independent effects of CAH and DV on women's mental health problems.
In addition, CAH and DV might generate interactive effects on the mental health of women. Previous studies have shown interactive effects between child abuse and DV on a child's mental health. Child abuse was associated with internalizing and externalizing problems and traumatic stress only when mothers reported higher levels of physical DV. This condition is not true for youths whose mothers did not experience DV (Kaslow & Thompson, 2008). However, few studies have investigated the interactive effects of CAH and DV on women's mental health.
Based on this previous research, it is hypothesized the following: (1) CAH and DV have independent associations with women's mental health problems and (2) CAH and DV have interactive effects on women's mental health problems; that is, women with CAH are more vulnerable to DV than women without CAH. The purpose of this study is to investigate the independent and interactive effects of CAH and DV on the mental health status of women in Japan.
Section snippets
Sample
Questionnaires were sent to a sample of 421 mothers in 83 Mother-Child Home facilities that agreed to participate in the study. Mother-Child Home is a welfare facility in Japan, where mothers and children experiencing family problems (e.g., DV, child abuse by the father, a single mother with financial problems) can stay and get assistance to become self-supporting. In a Mother-Child Home, residents are able to receive professional support, including psychiatric or psychological therapy,
Results
Characteristics of the sample are shown in Table 1. The women's age was normally distributed, with a mean of 35.7 (Standard Deviation [SD] = 7.0), ranging from 19 to 56 years. The husbands or partners’ age was slightly higher than the women's age, with a mean of 39.4 (SD = 9.6). The majority of the sample (72.7%) had divorced their husbands. Almost 80% of the sample was working either full-time or part-time. Their reasons for staying in the Mother-Child Home were mainly DV or child abuse from the
Discussion
CAH was shown to be independently associated with women’ dissociated, depressed, and traumatic symptoms. DV was independently associated with traumatic symptoms, but not with dissociated and depressed symptoms. An interactive effect between CAH and DV was found on dissociated symptoms: DV more likely increases dissociated symptoms among women without CAH, which is not true for women with CAH.
The present study is consistent with previous studies, showing the significant impact of CAH on women's
References (37)
- et al.
A review of the long-term effects of child sexual abuse
Child Abuse & Neglect
(1992) - et al.
Childhood family violence history and women's risk for intimate partner violence and poor health
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
(2003) Health consequences of intimate partner violence
Lancet
(2002)- et al.
Relation between childhood sexual and physical abuse and risk of revictimisation in women: A cross-sectional survey
Lancet
(2001) Population strategy to address child maltreatment in Japan
Public Health
(2007)- et al.
Prevalence of intimate partner violence: Findings from the WHO multi-country study on women's health and domestic violence
Lancet
(2006) - et al.
Associations of child maltreatment and intimate partner violence with psychological adjustment among low SES. African American children
Child Abuse & Neglect
(2008) - et al.
HIV sexual risk reduction interventions for women: A review
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
(1996) - Abel, E. M. (2001). Comparing the social service utilization, exposure to violence, and trauma symptomology of domestic...
An analysis of the impact of diverse forms of childhood psychological maltreatment on emotional adjustment in early adulthood
Child Maltreatment
(2008)
Treatment of violent families
Journal of National Medical Association
Initial reliability and validity of a new retrospective measure of child abuse and neglect
American Journal of Psychiatry
Family violence and psychiatric disorder
Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
Family violence and homelessness: The relevance of trauma histories in the lives of homeless women
American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
Predictors of depression in battered women
Violence Against Women
Women who use domestic violence shelters: Changes in depression over time
Psychology of Women Quarterly
Co-occurrence and correlates of posttraumatic stress disorder and major depression in physically abused women
Journal of Family Violence
Internalizing and externalizing characteristics of sexually and/or physically abused children
Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science
Cited by (16)
Child abuse, drug addiction and mental health problems of incarcerated women in Israel
2015, International Journal of Law and PsychiatryCitation Excerpt :In light of the evidence of much higher rates of victimization and trauma among incarcerated women than women in the community, researchers have begun to examine the possible association between various forms of childhood abuse, substance abuse, and mental health problems (Drapalski, Youman, Stuewig, & Tangney, 2009; Salisbury & Van Voorhis, 2009; Tripodi & Pettus-Davis, 2013). Numerous studies have shown the significant impact of childhood abuse on women's mental health problems (Fujiwara, Okuyama, Izumi, & Osada, 2010; Horwiitz, Widom, McLaughlin, & White, 2001). Incarcerated women who were victims of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse reported high rates of mental illnesses (Covington, 2003; Girshick, 2003; Lord, 2002; Wolff, 2008).
Intimate partner violence and incidence of hypertension in women
2012, Annals of EpidemiologyCitation Excerpt :Exposure to abuse in adulthood has received little attention in the epidemiologic literature. In a handful of studies, authors have linked IPV in adulthood with women's risk of depression [25–27], suicide and suicidal ideation [17], posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic symptoms [28,29], and poor self-rated health [25,26,30]. Only a small number of studies, all cross-sectional, have investigated associations of IPV with hypertension [31–33].
Motivational interviewing for enhancing engagement in Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) treatment: A review of the literature
2018, Aggression and Violent BehaviorCitation Excerpt :Some of the physical consequences for the female recipient of IPV include: gynaecological disorders, injuries and mortality, and sexually transmitted disease (Kazantzis, Flerr, & Long, 2000). Other consequences that occur frequently for the recipients are depression, posttraumatic stress disorders, anxiety, low self-esteem, sleep disturbances, eating disorders, suicidal behaviour, and increased likelihood of substance abuse (Blasco-Ros, Herbert, & Martinez, 2014; Devries, Mak, Bacchus, Child, & Falder, 2013; Fujiwara, Okuyama, Izumi, & Osada, 2010; Orava, McLeod, & Sharpe, 1996; Pico-Alfonso, 2005); Likewise, women who experience IPV may develop feelings such as guilt and they may become socially isolated and emotionally dependent on their abusive partner (Matud, 2005). As well as negative consequences for the female victim, IPV also affects children who may be present in the home.
Homelessness and Intimate Partner Violence: Women's Experiences With Accessing Formal Support Services and the Impact of Their Intersecting Identities
2024, Affilia - Feminist Inquiry in Social WorkUnique, Additive, and Interactive Effects of Types of Intimate Partner Cybervictimization on Depression in Hispanic Emerging Adults
2022, Journal of Interpersonal Violence
- ☆
This research is supported by Research on Self-support of Victims of Domestic Violence and its Support, in Research on Children and Families, Health and Labor Sciences Research Grants from Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (PI: Tomoko Ishii).