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Exploring causal relationships between child maltreatment and child internalising and externalising behavioural
Qing Han1, Marco Y C Pang2, Rui She2
1Institute of Population Research, Peking University, China; Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Insights
Child maltreatment causally increases the risk of aggressive behavior and emotional disorders in children. This study found no evidence that child behavioral problems lead to maltreatment, underscoring the need for prevention.
Area of Science:
- Child psychology
- Genetics
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Observational studies suggest a link between child maltreatment and behavioral issues.
- The causal direction between maltreatment and behavioral problems remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causal relationship between child maltreatment and behavioral problems using Mendelian Randomization (MR).
- To determine if child maltreatment causes behavioral issues or vice versa.
Main Methods:
- Bidirectional two-sample Mendelian Randomization (MR) analysis.
- Utilized summary data from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for child maltreatment, aggressive behaviors, internalizing symptoms, and behavioral/emotional disorders.
Main Results:
- Child maltreatment significantly increases the risk of aggressive behavior (P=0.014) and overall childhood behavioral or emotional disorders (P=0.011).
- No significant causal effect of child behavioral problems on the risk of experiencing child maltreatment was found.
- Child maltreatment did not significantly affect internalizing symptoms (P=0.235).
Conclusions:
- Child maltreatment is a causal factor for aggressive behavior and behavioral/emotional disorders.
- No evidence supports reverse causation from child behavioral problems to maltreatment.
- Highlights the need for prevention and intervention strategies to address child maltreatment.
Background:
Prior observational studies have shown associations between child maltreatment and behavioural problems in children. However, the causal relationship and directionality between these variables stay unclear, necessitating rigorous methodologies to determine whether caregivers perpetrate maltreatment in response to child misbehaviour or if children develop behavioural problems because of maltreatment.
Method:
This study employed a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian Randomization (MR) analysis to elucidate the causal relationships between child maltreatment and behavioural problems. We utilized summary data from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and GWAS meta-analyses for child maltreatment (185,414 participants), aggressive behaviours (87,485 participants), internalising symptoms (64,561 participants), and diagnosed behavioural and emotional disorders (3029 cases and 215,763 controls).
Results:
The MR analyses revealed that exposure to child maltreatment significantly increased the risk of developing aggressive behaviour (β = 0.126, SE = 0.052, P = 0.014) and overall childhood behavioural or emotional disorders (β = 0.963, SE = 0.379, P = 0.011), but did not significantly affect internalising symptoms (β = 0.064, SE = 0.054, P = 0.235). In contrast, insufficient evidence was identified on causal effects of various phenotypes of child behavioural problems on the risk of experiencing child maltreatment (all P > 0.05).
Conclusions:
Our findings provide evidence for a causal effect of child maltreatment on the development of aggressive behaviour and general behavioural or emotional disorders, while suggesting no reverse causation. These results emphasize that child misbehaviour should not be viewed as a justification for maltreatment, but rather as one of its detrimental consequences. The study highlights the urgent need for timely prevention and intervention strategies to address child maltreatment in order to enhance child development and promote behavioural health.
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