title: Effects of maltreatment and parental schizophrenia spectrum disorders on early childhood social-emotional functioning: a population record linkage study.
abstract: Childhood maltreatment and a family history of a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD) are each associated with social-emotional dysfunction in childhood. Both are also strong risk factors for adult SSDs, and social-emotional dysfunction in childhood may be an antecedent of these disorders. We used data from a large Australian population cohort to determine the independent and moderating effects of maltreatment and parental SSDs on early childhood social-emotional functioning.
  
  
  
  The New South Wales Child Development Study combines intergenerational multi-agency data using record linkage methods. Multiple measures of social-emotional functioning (social competency, prosocial/helping behaviour, anxious/fearful behaviour; aggressive behaviour, and hyperactivity/inattention) on 69 116 kindergarten children (age ~5 years) were linked with government records of child maltreatment and parental presentations to health services for SSD. Multivariable analyses investigated the association between maltreatment and social-emotional functioning, adjusting for demographic variables and parental SSD history, in the population sample and in sub-cohorts exposed and not exposed to parental SSD history. We also examined the association of parental SSD history and social-emotional functioning, adjusting for demographic variables and maltreatment.
  
  
  
  Medium-sized associations were identified between maltreatment and poor social competency, aggressive behaviour and hyperactivity/inattention; small associations were revealed between maltreatment and poor prosocial/helping and anxious/fearful behaviours. These associations did not differ greatly when adjusted for parental SSD, and were greater in magnitude among children with no history of parental SSD. Small associations between parental SSD and poor social-emotional functioning remained after adjusting for demographic variables and maltreatment.
  
  
  
  Childhood maltreatment and history of parental SSD are associated independently with poor early childhood social-emotional functioning, with the impact of exposure to maltreatment on social-emotional functioning in early childhood of greater magnitude than that observed for parental SSDs. The impact of maltreatment was reduced in the context of parental SSDs. The influence of parental SSDs on later outcomes of maltreated children may become more apparent during adolescence and young adulthood when overt symptoms of SSD are likely to emerge. Early intervention to strengthen childhood social-emotional functioning might mitigate the impact of maltreatment, and potentially also avert future psychopathology.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychiatry,University of New South Wales,Sydney,Australia.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Matheson
authors.affiliation: School of Psychiatry,University of New South Wales,Sydney,Australia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kariuki
authors.affiliation: School of Psychiatry,University of New South Wales,Sydney,Australia.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: School of Psychiatry,University of New South Wales,Sydney,Australia.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.affiliation: School of Psychiatry,University of New South Wales,Sydney,Australia.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: School of Psychiatry,University of New South Wales,Sydney,Australia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tzoumakis
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences,Canterbury University,Christchurch,New Zealand.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tarren-Sweeney
authors.affiliation: Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia,Perth,Australia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brinkman
authors.affiliation: New South Wales Department of Family and Community Services,Sydney,Australia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chilvers
authors.affiliation: New South Wales Ministry of Health,Sydney,Australia.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sprague
authors.affiliation: School of Psychiatry,University of New South Wales,Sydney,Australia.
authors.forename: V J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.affiliation: School of Psychiatry,University of New South Wales,Sydney,Australia.
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Laurens
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008498:Medical Record Linkage; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D012559:Schizophrenia; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology
keywords: Behaviour problems; child abuse; mental health; neglect; risk factors