Assessing the Relationship Between Child Maltreatment and Disordered Eating Among Youth: A Systematic Review and...

Exposure to child maltreatment is highly prevalent and associated with a myriad of adverse physical and mental health outcomes, including disordered eating (DE). However, most of this work has been limited to adults with eating disorders, and the association between maltreatment and DE specifically among youth has yet to be systematically quantified. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to quantify the association between child maltreatment and indicators of DE among children and adolescents.

Electronic databases were searched to identify original, peer-reviewed articles. Effect sizes were calculated to quantify the association between child maltreatment (physical, sexual, emotional abuse, or neglect) and DE among youth.

Across 13 studies, the odds of engaging in DE among youth who experienced child maltreatment were significantly greater than the odds of engaging in DE among youth who had never experienced child maltreatment (odds ratio = 2.16; 95% CI, 1.77-2.63; p < 0.001).

These meta-analytic findings indicate that youth who experience maltreatment may be vulnerable to patterns of DE during childhood/adolescence. Notable methodological limitations of these findings are discussed, and this broader field of research would benefit from methodologically rigorous future studies.