Relationship between maltreatment and mental health in adolescents: A school-based study in Indonesia

Maltreatment affects emotional development in adolescents and inhibits social adjustment. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between maltreatment and mental health among adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted on adolescents in the first and second grades of middle school (12-14 years old) and high school (15-17 years old) in eight cities and municipalities in the province, selected through several stages of simple random sampling (N = 1837). The International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) Child Abuse Screening Tool for Children (ICAST-C) questionnaire for detecting maltreatment was translated, simplified, and validated by an expert based on a theoretical framework that involved pediatricians, public health, and medicolegal perspectives. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to assess emotional states. ICAST-C and SDQ scores were transformed to logit values using Rasch model analysis. Distribution frequency and linear regression were used for data analysis. The results indicated that 85.6% of adolescents aged 12-14 and 83% of those aged 15-17 experienced physical maltreatment, while 89.4% of the 12-14 age group and 82.9% of the 15-17 age group experienced psychological maltreatment. The emotional states of the two groups were 52.8% and 59.2%, respectively. There was a significant correlation between the experience of physical maltreatment and emotions among 12-14 (r1 = 0.148 (0.190-0.257)) and 15-17 years old (r1 = 0.047 (0.084-0.156)). There was a significant correlation between the experience of psychological maltreatment and emotions among 12-14 years old '(r2 = 0.191 (0.270-0.350)) and 15 to 17 years old (r2 = 0.097 (0.167-0.252)). In conclusion, physical and psychological maltreatment were correlated with mental health states among adolescent students in West Java, Indonesia.