Health Reports, September 2024

Non-physical childhood maltreatment is associated with suicidal ideation and mental health disorders in Canada

In 2018, nearly one-third of individuals in Canada (32.3%) experienced only non-physical types of maltreatment, and nearly one-quarter (23.3%) experienced both physical and non-physical maltreatment in childhood. While research has found that physical and sexual childhood abuse are associated with experiencing suicidal ideation and mental health disorders, less is known about the relationships between non-physical types of childhood maltreatment (e.g., emotional abuse, interpersonal aggression, exposure to physical intimate partner violence (IPV), emotional neglect, physical neglect), and suicidal ideation and mental health disorders.

The article "Understanding experiences of non-physical maltreatment in childhood in Canada: What is the relationship with suicidal ideation and mental health disorders?" released today in Health Reports provides an estimate of the proportion of individuals in Canada who experienced different types of non-physical maltreatment in childhood. It also examines associations between five different types of non-physical child maltreatment, and suicidal ideation and mental health disorders.

Interpersonal aggression and emotional abuse were the most common types of non-physical maltreatment experienced in childhood

Among individuals who experienced non-physical maltreatment, interpersonal aggression was the most common (45.7%), followed by emotional abuse (40.4%), emotional neglect (20.0%), exposure to physical intimate partner violence (12.3%), and physical neglect (4.0%).

Non-physical childhood maltreatment was associated with an increased likelihood of suicidal ideation

Lifetime suicidal ideation was higher for individuals who experienced emotional neglect (24%), emotional abuse (20%), physical neglect (22%), exposure to physical IPV (20%), or interpersonal aggression (18%) compared with those who never experienced these types of maltreatment (13%; 12%; 16%; 15%; 13%, respectively).

Experiencing non-physical childhood maltreatment increased the likelihood of being diagnosed with mood, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorders

Mood disorder diagnoses were more likely among those who experienced emotional abuse (12%), interpersonal aggression (11%), and emotional neglect (14%) than among those who never experienced these types of maltreatment (8%; 9%; 9%, respectively). Anxiety disorder diagnoses were more likely among those who experienced emotional abuse (15%), interpersonal aggression (14%), emotional neglect (16%), or physical neglect (17%) compared with those who never experienced the maltreatment (12%; 12%; 12%; 13%, respectively). Finally, post-traumatic stress disorder diagnoses were more likely among those who experienced emotional neglect (5%) and physical neglect (5%) than among those who never experienced these types of maltreatment (3%; 3%, respectively).

Findings from this study suggest that non-physical types of childhood maltreatment have important implications for mental health outcomes. Policy makers, mental health professionals and clinicians working with adult populations, as well as teachers and child care workers should be aware of these associations.