scholarly journals Prognostic evaluation of suicidality and development of risk factors in victims of physical and emotional child abuse and emotional/psychological neglect

BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S273-S273
Author(s):  
Latif Miah

AimsTo evaluate the effects of childhood maltreatment, specifically physical and emotional abuse and emotional/psychological neglect on the development of suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms and self-harm. It is hypothesised that there will be a strong causal link between the aforementioned types of maltreatment with suicidality, depression and self-harm.BackgroundChild abuse is a major public health issue with profound developmental and mental health consequences towards victims and their contributions to society as a whole. The impact of sexual abuse is well-established, however non-sexual child maltreatment and its sequelae are not as well understood or studied.MethodA literature search was carried out using the Pubmed, Cochrane, Scopus and Google Scholar databases. Articles were appraised according to set criteria and manually screened for relevance to the review.ResultThe results of this review demonstrate that there are statistically significant, potentially causal links between emotional and physical abuse, and emotional/psychological neglect with suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms and self-harm. More research is still required to elucidate the role of polyvictimisation in mental health outcomes and to further confirm these links between abuse and development.ConclusionChild maltreatment remains a large public health issue with major impact on the economy of the world. It has profound, potentially lifelong consequences on victims and is something that needs to lose its stigma so that it can be identified earlier and potential damage prevented as far as possible. The future may lie in working to remove the stigma surrounding it, standardise how it is studied and thus learn to recognise the signs earlier – ideally leading to implementation of policy to get victims to safety, preventing unncecessary harm.

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay Wilhelm ◽  
Viola Korczak ◽  
Tad Tietze ◽  
Prasuna Reddy

Rates of self-harm in Australia are increasing and constitute a concerning public health issue. Although there are standard treatment pathways for physical complaints, such as headache, abdominal pain and chest pain, in Emergency Medicine, there is no national pathway for self-harm or other psychiatric conditions that present to the emergency department. Herein we outline the difference between clinical practice guidelines and clinical pathways, discuss pathways we have identified on self-harm in Australia and overseas and discuss their applicability to the Australian context and the next steps forward in addressing this public health issue.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan Werbick ◽  
Imran Bari ◽  
Nino Paichadze ◽  
Adnan A. Hyder

AbstractPopulations around the world are facing an increasing burden of firearm violence on mortality and disability. While firearm violence affects every country globally, the burden is significantly higher in many low- and middle-income countries. However, despite overwhelming statistics, there is a lack of research, reporting, and prioritization of firearm violence as a global public health issue, and when attention is given it is focused on high-income countries. This paper discusses the impact of firearm violence, the factors which shape such violence, and how it fits into global public health frameworks in order to illustrate how firearm violence is a global health issue which warrants evidence-based advocacy around the world.


Author(s):  
Michelle L. Townsend ◽  
Caitlin E. Miller ◽  
Emily L. Matthews ◽  
Brin F. S. Grenyer

Adolescent self-harm is a significant public health issue. We aimed to understand how parent stress response styles to their child’s self-harm affects their wellbeing and functioning and the wider family. Thirty-seven participants in Australia (parents; 92% female) completed a mixed methods survey regarding their adolescent child’s self-harm. We conducted Pearson zero-order correlations and independent t-tests to examine the impact of parent response style on their quality of life, health satisfaction, daily functioning, and mental health. We also used thematic analysis to identify patterns of meaning in the data. Two-thirds of participants reported mental ill health and reduced functional capacity due to their adolescent’s self-harm. Parents with a more adaptive response style to stress had better mental health. Qualitative analyses revealed parents experienced sustained feelings of distress and fear, which resulted in behavioural reactions including hypervigilance and parental mental health symptoms. In the wider family there was a change in dynamics and parents reported both functional and social impacts. There is a need to develop psychological support for the adolescent affected and parents, to support more adaptive response styles, and decrease the negative effects and facilitate the wellbeing of the family unit.


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