Psychological maltreatment: Discovering its different subtypes and related developmental risk factors

Psychological maltreatment (PM) is widely recognized as a particularly harmful form of child maltreatment. However, challenges in research persist, including limited empirical evidence on subtypes of PM and uncertainty whether its observed harmfulness stems from PM's inherent characteristics or its strong association with confounding developmental risk factors.

This study aims to (a) investigate the dimensional structure of PM, particularly whether it can be grouped into the superordinate domains of psychological abuse and psychological neglect, and (b) examine the strength of PM's association with co-occurring developmental risk factors, such as adverse childhood experiences (ACE), compared to other types of child maltreatment.

The study relies on a cross-sectional classroom-based survey in Switzerland with a sample of n = 1386 adolescents. A sub-sample of n = 727 adolescents (mean age = 14.48 years) who reported PM exposure above the sample mean was examined.

PM was assessed using the Computer Assisted Maltreatment Inventory, along with additional scales. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to explore the dimensional structure of PM, and χ² tests assessed associations with co-occurring developmental risk factors.

Most PM subtypes were moderately to strongly correlated. Notable exceptions were corrupting and parentification, the latter being negatively correlated with other subtypes. Both CFA models showed only acceptable fits, with no improvement in fit for the second-order model with the domains psychological abuse and neglect. Adolescents exposed to PM had higher odds of experiencing co-occurring adversities, such as prolonged exposure and ACE, than victims of other types of child maltreatment.

These findings invite further reflection on how PM can be measured both validly and efficiently and how subtypes can be grouped into both domains. They also highlight that PM's close association with co-occurring developmental risk factors needs to be accounted for to accurately interpret PM's impact.