Childhood maltreatment and mental and physical health in Haitian adults.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the prevalence of childhood maltreatment among Haitian adults and to examine its relationship to depression, general physical health, and quality of life.


METHODS
Descriptive exploratory. Participants were men and women 18 years of age or older who were seated in the waiting area of a hospital-based medical clinic in a medium-sized city in Haiti. The author collected these data while on a Fulbright fellowship to Haiti in 2003.


METHODS
Two hundred fifty-eight participants completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Cohen-Hoberman Inventory of Physical Symptoms, Center for Epidemiologic Study-Depression Scale, and a visual analogue quality of life scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, multiple regression, and Student's t test.


RESULTS
Over half (60%) of the women and 85.7% of the men reported at least one type of childhood maltreatment at the moderate to severe level. Of the total sample, 53.9% had scores indicative of major depression and 43.9% reported an average score of "somewhat bothered" by 37 physical symptoms. Childhood maltreatment (each of five types) was related to physical symptoms and depression.


CONCLUSIONS
Rates of childhood maltreatment were high in this sample of Haitian adults, and their childhood maltreatment was related to physical and mental health symptoms in adulthood.
Martsolf
Donna S
DS
College of Nursing, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA. dmartsol@kent.edu
D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006205:Haiti / Q000453:epidemiology; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D024802:Nurse's Role; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires