title: Childhood Abuse and Mental Health Problems: Does Gender Matter?
abstract: Gender differences in the relationship between mental health problems and childhood abuse have long been of interest to researchers. The purpose of the present study was to examine gender differences in the relationship between childhood abuse and mental health problems among 110 Israeli inmates (50 women and 60 men). The findings indicated that female inmates reported higher prevalence of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and were more likely to suffer from mental health problems, compared with the male inmates. Additionally, the findings revealed that more female than male inmates had parents with mental health problems. Female inmates who reported mental health problems in their families also reported higher rates of child abuse relative to male inmates with a similar family history.
authors.affiliation: Department of Criminology, Ashkelon Academic College, 12 Ben Tzvi St., 78109, Ashkelon, Israel. chengila6@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Gila
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Criminology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Keren
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gueta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Childhood abuse; Gender differences; Inmates; Mental health problems