Influence of childhood maltreatment on adulthood mental health and disorders

Xiangfei Meng, MD, PhDXiangfei Meng is Medical Scientist at the Douglas Hospital Research Centre, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, and Associate Member of the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health at McGill University. Her research interests focus on population mental health and neuro-psychiatric epidemiology and health services use, using a wide range of techniques to study the roles of genetic, epigenetic, psycho-socio environmental risk factors and their interplay in common mental disorders across the life span of mental diseases, especially focusing on the importance of prevention strategies in diverse ethno-cultural environment.
Abstract: Child maltreatment is internationally considered as a serious public health, human rights, legal and social issue. Every year it is estimated that millions of children are abused and neglected. The negative consequences accompanying child maltreatment include not only adverse consequences during childhood, but also the initiation of a negative developmental trajectory that lasts through the lifetime. However, despite the increase risk of psychopathology, research indicates that some abused individuals retain normal levels of functioning. This dynamic developmental process encompassing the attainment of positive adaptation within the context of significant adversity is referred as resilience. It is of importance to understand the dynamic balance between resilience and allostatic load in mental health and mental disorders. Recent interesting findings of our studies include: 1) resilience and protective factors among people with a history of child maltreatment; 2) the moderating role of gender in the relationship between childhood abuse and internalizing and substance use disorders later in life; and, 3) the substantially increased risk from childhood maltreatment of adult depression and anxiety in prospective cohort studies.