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Cathy Spatz Widom

Publications and source records attributed to Cathy Spatz Widom.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

A prospective investigation of major depressive disorder and comorbidity in abused and neglected children grown up.

CONTEXT: Few prospective longitudinal studies have examined the relationship between abuse or neglect in childhood and depression in adulthood. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether abused and neglected children were at elevated risk of major depressive disorder (MDD) and psychiatric comorbidity, compared with matched control subjects, when followed up into young adulthood. DESIGN: Prospective cohort design study. SETTING: Midwestern metropolitan county area. PARTICIPANTS: Children with substantiated cases of physical and sexual abuse and neglect (before the age of 11 years) from January 1, 1967, to December 31, 1971 (n = 676) were matched based on age, race, sex, and approximate family social class with a group of non-abused and non-neglected children (n = 520) and followed up into young adulthood (mean age, 28.7 years). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Between October 20, 1989, and December 22, 1995, 2-hour in-person interviews were conducted, using the National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule, Version III Revised, to determine DSM-III-R MDD and other psychiatric diagnoses. RESULTS: Child abuse and neglect were associated with an increased risk for current MDD (odds ratio [OR], 1.51; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06-2.14; P< or=.05) in young adulthood. Children who were physically abused (OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.00-2.52; P< or =.05) or experienced multiple types of abuse (OR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.01-3.02; P< or =.05) were at increased risk of lifetime MDD, whereas neglect increased risk for current MDD (OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.10-2.29; P<.01). Childhood sexual abuse was not associated with elevated risk of MDD. Kaplan-Meier age-of-onset curves (log-rank statistic, 4.03; df = 1; P=.04) showed earlier onset of MDD for abused and neglected children compared with controls. Among those with MDD, comorbidity was higher for abused and neglected individuals than for controls. CONCLUSION: These results support the need for clinicians to increase efforts to detect and treat depression in physically abused and neglected children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

MAOA and the "cycle of violence:" childhood abuse and neglect, MAOA genotype, and risk for violent and antisocial behavior.

BACKGROUND: Two recent studies with white males have shown that genotypes associated with high levels of monamine oxidase A (MAOA) protect against the impact of childhood maltreatment and adversity on the development of antisocial behavior and conduct disorder. METHODS: Participants in a prospective cohort design study involving court substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect and a matched comparison group were followed up into adulthood and interviewed (N = 802). Eighty-two percent consented to provide blood and 631 gave permission for DNA extraction and analyses. A composite index of violent and antisocial behavior (VASB) was created based on arrest, self-report, and diagnostic information. RESULTS: No main effect was found for the relationship between MAOA genotype and VASB. Genotypes associated with high levels of MAOA activity buffered abused and neglected whites from increased risk of becoming violent and/or antisocial in later life. This protective effect was not found for non-white abused and neglected individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Possible explanations for this differential effect for whites and non-whites include differences in contextual factors (e.g., environmental stressors) and a question of the suitability of using the MAOA promoter VNTR polymorphism as a proxy for MAOA levels in non-white populations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Childhood victimization and illicit drug use in middle adulthood.

Using a prospective cohort design, the authors examined in this study whether childhood victimization increases the risk for illicit drug use and related problems in middle adulthood. Court-documented cases of childhood physical and sexual abuse and neglect and matched controls (N = 892) were first assessed as young adults (mean age = 29 years) during 1989-1995 and again in middle adulthood (mean age = 40 years) during 2000-2002. In middle adulthood, abused and neglected individuals were about 1.5 times more likely than controls to report using any illicit drug (in particular, marijuana) during the past year and reported use of a greater number of illicit drugs and more substance-use-related problems compared with controls. The current results reveal the long-term impact of childhood victimization on drug use in middle adulthood. These new results reinforce the need for targeted interventions with abused and neglected children, adolescents, and adults, and particularly for women.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

An examination of pathways from childhood victimization to violence: the role of early aggression and problematic alcohol use.

Using prospective data from a cohort design study involving documented cases of child abuse and neglect and a matched control group, we examine two potential pathways between childhood victimization and violent criminal behavior: early aggressive behavior and problematic drinking. Structural equation models, including controls for race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, parental alcoholism, and parental criminality, revealed different pathways for men and women. For men, child maltreatment has direct and indirect (through aggressive behavior and problematic alcohol use) paths to violence. For women, problematic alcohol use mediates the relationship between childhood victimization and violence, and, independent of child maltreatment, early aggression leads to alcohol problems, which lead to violence. Interventions for victims of childhood maltreatment need to recognize the role of early aggressive behavior and alcohol problems as risk factors for subsequent violence.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Development and validation of a new instrument to assess lifetime trauma and victimization history.

This article describes a new easy-to-administer and understand, interview-based instrument that systematically and comprehensively assesses a person's Lifetime Trauma and Victimization History (LTVH). The LTVH inquires about 30 traumas and victimization experiences (including general traumas, physical assault/abuse, sexual assault/abuse, kidnapping/stalking, family/friend murdered or committed suicide, witnessed trauma to someone else, and crime victimizations) and age of onset, perpetrator, degree of danger and fear experienced, duration, and frequency of each experience. We present evidence of predictive validity of the LTVH as well as convergent and criterion validity for the child abuse items using information from individuals with documented histories of child abuse and neglect and matched comparisons (without documented histories of childhood victimization). The 896 individuals (mean age = 39.5 years) reported 11,850 traumas or victimization experiences. The LTVH demonstrates good predictive, criterion-related, and convergent validity and a high level of agreement between earlier and current reports of certain types of traumas.

Crime Victims↗
PubMed2005

Understanding the role of neighborhood context in the long-term criminal consequences of child maltreatment.

This study investigated how neighborhood conditions influence the relationship between early child maltreatment and criminal behavior, using official data from a sample of maltreated children (N = 908) and matched controls (N = 667), as well as census data about respondents' neighborhoods. Using multilevel data that incorporated information about individuals, families, and neighborhoods, 2 hypotheses (direct influence and interaction effect) were examined using hierarchical generalized linear modeling (HGLM). The results indicated that neighborhood disadvantage and stability moderated the relationship between early child maltreatment and offending. Specifically, the effect of early child maltreatment on later juvenile and adult criminal behavior was strongest for those individuals from the most disadvantaged and most stable neighborhoods. These results suggest that studying the interaction between family functioning and neighborhood conditions provides a more comprehensive understanding of offending than does studying each factor separately.

Case-Control Studies↗
PubMed2004

Childhood abuse and neglect and adult intimate relationships: a prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: The present study extends prior research on childhood maltreatment and social functioning by examining the impact of early childhood physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect on rates of involvement in adult intimate relationships and relationship functioning. METHOD: Substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect from 1967 to 1971 were matched on gender, age, race, and approximate family class with non-abused and non-neglected children and followed prospectively into adulthood. Between 1989 and 1995, 1,196 participants (676 abused and neglected and 520 controls) were administered a 2-hour in-person interview, including a psychiatric assessment and a variety of standardized rating scales. RESULTS: Male and female abuse and neglect victims reported higher rates of cohabitation, walking out, and divorce than controls. Abused and neglected females were also less likely than female controls to have positive perceptions of current romantic partners and to be sexually faithful. CONCLUSIONS: Although previous research on childhood maltreatment and adult intimate relationships has emphasized outcomes for female victims of childhood sexual abuse, present findings suggest that other forms of early maltreatment (physical abuse and neglect) also have a negative effect on both males' and females' ability to establish and maintain healthy intimate relationships in adulthood.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Does childhood victimization increase the risk of early death? A 25-year prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Abuse and neglect have been shown to influence the mental and physical health of children; however, few studies have examined whether childhood victimization leads to an increased risk of early death. PURPOSE: This paper compares mortality data and examines cause of death for a sample of 908 abused and/or neglected individuals and 667 matched controls who were followed up into young adulthood. METHODS: Using data from a prospective cohort design study, a large group of children with substantiated cases of abuse (physical and sexual) and/or neglect approximately 25 years ago were matched with a control group of children and both groups were followed up into adulthood. The National Death Index was searched twice and official death certificates were collected for most individuals who had died. RESULTS: Surprisingly, there were no significant differences in rates of mortality for the two groups (abuse and neglect = 3.5%, controls = 3.0%). Furthermore, victims of child abuse and neglect were not more likely to experience a violent death. CONCLUSIONS: Our results do not provide support for a heightened rate of early death in abused and neglected children followed up into young adulthood. Limitations of the study are discussed as well as potential reasons for these unexpected findings.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Diverse research on alcohol and aggression in humans: in memory of John A. Carpenter.

This article summarizes the proceedings of a symposium, chaired and co-organized by Helene Raskin White and co-organized by Peter R. Giancola, that was presented at the 2002 RSA Meeting in San Francisco. The goal of this symposium was to integrate findings from methodologically divergent studies on the topic of alcohol-related aggression in humans. The investigators focused on isolating mediators and moderators of the alcohol-aggression relationship. Peter R. Giancola presented laboratory data demonstrating how alcohol's acute effects on aggression are moderated by individual difference and contextual factors. Mitchell E. Berman presented laboratory data on alcohol's acute effects on self-induced aggression. Helene Raskin White reviewed prospective data on how alcohol affects the intergenerational transmission of family violence. Stephen Chermack reviewed data on the impact of a family history of alcoholism and a family history of violence on the development of childhood behavioral problems and adult problems with drugs, alcohol, and violence. Finally, Kenneth E. Leonard presented data on personal and contextual factors influencing alcohol-related barroom violence.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Childhood victimization and alcohol symptoms in women: an examination of protective factors.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether academic and intellectual functioning, high self-efficacy and social support protect women who were abused and neglected in childhood from developing alcohol problems in later life. METHOD: Substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect from 1967 to 1971 were matched on gender, age, race and approximate social class with nonabused/nonneglected children and were followed prospectively into young adulthood. Subjects were administered a 2-hour face-to-face interview, including the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS-III-R), to assess alcohol symptoms. Analyses were restricted to women in the sample (N = 522). RESULTS: For women abused and neglected in childhood and for control women, graduating from high school significantly decreased the number of DSM-III-R alcohol symptoms. For abused and neglected women, high self-efficacy was also associated with significantly lower levels of alcohol symptoms. Interaction coefficients were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to improve educational achievement and to increase feelings of self-efficacy (possibly through empowerment programs) may be effective in reducing alcohol problems in women abused and neglected as children.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Sampling biases and implications for child abuse research.

The influence of sampling decisions on outcome in research on child abuse is examined. The extent to which the literature on child abuse reflects the problems of criterion-dependent biases and method-dependent biases is discussed and recommendations are made for minimizing sampling biases.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Reactions to research participation in vulnerable subgroups.

This paper describes the extent to which vulnerable individuals (defined by economic, social, psychological, physical health, and child maltreatment status) react to research participation. As part of an ongoing longitudinal study, participants (N=896) completed a lengthy and intrusive in-person interview and provided a small amount of blood through finger pricks. At the end of the interview, participants were asked eight questions about their reactions to the research experience. Vulnerable individuals in general agreed more strongly about having an emotional reaction, but were not less willing to continue to participate. In addition, psychologically vulnerable individuals more strongly agreed they would continue to participate, were treated with respect and dignity, and found their participation meaningful. Compared to whites, nonwhites reported stronger agreement about the meaningfulness of the research and the belief that their responses would be kept private. Like others, individuals vulnerable by virtue of their prisoner status or homelessness (past or current) agreed more strongly about having an emotional reaction to the interview, but otherwise did not differ in their reactions. These results suggest that researchers and institutional review boards should not be deterred from conducting research on sensitive topics with potentially vulnerable populations.

Adult↗