Childhood neglect and adult mental disorders: A sibling-comparison study

Globally, childhood neglect remains common in both developed and developing settings. However, there is a lack of robust evidence regarding the association between childhood neglect and adult mental disorders.

Using a sibling-comparison study nested within the FAMILY Cohort, we assessed the role of childhood neglect and abuse in adult mental disorders, taking into account known and unknown familial confounders shared by siblings. Between July 2017 and February 2019, we interviewed 1106 adults nested in 508 sibling groups randomly sampled from the population-representative FAMILY Cohort in Hong Kong. Childhood neglect, physical abuse, and emotional abuse were assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and the Conflict Tactics Scale. Current common mental disorder was assessed by the Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised (score ≥ 12). We used multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression to estimate the odds ratios (OR) of current common mental disorders associated with childhood neglect and abuse.

Childhood neglect (OR = 2.22, 95 % CI 1.05-4.68), physical abuse (OR = 1.99, 1.09-3.61), and emotional abuse (OR = 2.85, 1.48-5.49) were associated with adult mental disorders even after adjusting for shared familial confounders.

The strong association between childhood neglect and adult mental disorders was similar to that of other forms of childhood adversity. However, due to the high prevalence of child neglect, its public health impact could be even larger.