title: Personality development after physical abuse.
abstract: Personality development after child abuse was studied in 39 children who had, on average, been admitted to hospital five and a half years previously. In contrast to a control group, the abused children had fewer friends, lower ambitions, and lower self esteem. They were more serious, shy, and subdued on a personality assessment and were more likely than the control children to have behaviour disturbances recorded on a questionnaire for teachers. Their mothers also noted a higher incidence of behaviour disorders than mothers of control children. Child abuse has long term effects on the personality development of children. A long term, child centred approach is needed for abused children to try to prevent some of the sequelae.
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D010553:Personality Development; D012649:Self Concept