TY - JOUR PY - 2023// TI - Childhood abuse, intimate partner violence in young adulthood, and welfare receipt by midlife JO - Pediatrics A1 - Domond, Pascale A1 - Orri, Massimiliano A1 - Vergunst, Francis A1 - Bouchard, Samantha A1 - Findlay, Leanne A1 - Kohen, Dafna A1 - Hébert, Martine A1 - Vitaro, Frank A1 - Tremblay, Richard E. A1 - Geoffroy, Marie-Claude A1 - Côté, Sylvana SP - ePub EP - ePub VL - ePub IS - ePub N2 - OBJECTIVE: To investigate prospective associations between type of child abuse (physical, sexual, both), timing (childhood, young adulthood, both), and welfare receipt into middle-age.

METHODS: Database linkage study using the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten Children cohort born in 1980 and government administrative databases (N = 3020). We assessed parental tax returns, family and personal background characteristics (1982-1987). At age 22 years, participants answered retrospective questionnaires on experienced childhood abuse (physical, sexual abuse < age 18 years) and intimate partner violence (IPV) (ages 18-22). Main outcome was years on social assistance, on the basis of participant tax returns (ages 23-37 years). Analysis included weights for population representativeness.

RESULTS: Of 1690 participants (54.4% females) with available data, 22.4% reported childhood abuse only, 14.5% IPV only, and 18.5% both. Prevalence of childhood physical, sexual, and both was 20.4%, 12.2%, and 8.3%, respectively. Adjusting for socioeconomic background and individual characteristics, we found that childhood physical abuse alone and physical or sexual abuse combined were associated with a two-fold risk of welfare receipt, as compared to never-abused (adjusted incidence risk ratio 2.43, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.65-3.58; and adjusted incidence risk ratio 2.04, 95% CI, 1.29-3.23, respectively). Repeated abuse (childhood abuse combined with adult IPV) had a three-fold risk (adjusted incidence ratio 3.59, 95% CI, 2.39-5.37).

CONCLUSIONS: Abuse across several developmental periods (childhood and young adulthood) is associated with increased risks of long-term welfare receipt, independently of socioeconomic background.

RESULTS indicate a dose-response association. Early prevention and targeted identification are crucial to preventing economic adversity that may potentially lead to intergenerational poverty.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0031-4005 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2022-057379 ID - ref1 ER -