Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
3-2025
Abstract
Self-injurious thoughts and behavior, encompassing suicidal ideation, attempts and non-suicidal self-injury, represent a critical global health concern. Amidst the multifaceted nature of these behaviors and the various underlying risk factors, childhood maltreatment emerges as significant risk factor. The current umbrella review synthesizes literature across diverse geographical regions including Africa, Asia & Pacific, Europe, Middle East, North America, Latin America and Oceania incorporating findings from 24 meta-analyses that cumulatively analyze 81 effect sizes. The review reveals a consistent association between various forms of childhood maltreatment and an increased risk of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors across different populations. Importantly, our findings show that childhood physical (Mdn OR = 2.52), emotional (Mdn OR = 2.75), and sexual abuse (Mdn OR = 2.56) have comparable impacts on such behaviors, highlighting the severity of all childhood abuse sub-types. Similarly, we also found that emotional neglect (Mdn OR = 1.89) has a similar impact as physical neglect (Mdn OR = 1.57) in predicting self-injurious thoughts and behavior. Our findings underscore that all forms of childhood maltreatment pose comparable significant risks and highlight the necessity for comprehensive, trauma-informed interventions to mitigate the risk of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors.
Keywords
Childhood maltreatment, Self-injurious thoughts and behavior, Meta-analysis, Systematic review
Discipline
Child Psychology | Social Psychology
Research Areas
Psychology
Publication
Psychiatry Research Communications
Volume
5
Issue
1
First Page
1
Last Page
19
ISSN
2772-5987
Identifier
10.1016/j.psycom.2025.100202
Publisher
Elsevier
Citation
CHIA, Yuan Yu Alicia, HARTANTO, Andree, WAN, Tse Shuen, TEO, Shauna Sha Min, SIM, Wei Xiang, & K TENNAKOON APPUHAMILLAGE SANDEESHWARA KASTURIRATNA, .(2025). The impact of childhood sexual, physical and emotional abuse and neglect on suicidal behavior and non-suicidal self-injury: A systematic review of meta-analyses. Psychiatry Research Communications, 5(1), 1-19.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/4158
Copyright Owner and License
Author-CC-BY
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psycom.2025.100202
