The impact of child maltreatment on adolescent and adult health outcomes

Child maltreatment: A major public health problem Child maltreatment is prevalent. As a community, we do not yet know the extent of childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and neglect, nor do we understand the pathways to health or poorer outcomes. If our understanding of the scope and nature of the problems associated with maltreatment is limited, our clinical, child welfare service, and other healthcare efforts will also remain limited. This New Emerging Team research effort brings together experts in social sciences, medicine, and health from universities, hospitals, and community organizations to study the impact of child maltreatment on the health of adolescent and adult survivors. Different methods are applied to clinical and epidemiological research in order to address questions regarding: who are the victims of abuse, what are they faced with, what are the processes that support different outcomes, and what are the best practices for intervention? New researchers will be trained from different maltreatment-related areas so that violence prevention can become the dominant goal and a gateway to prevention of other negative outcomes, such as addiction, partner violence, and self-harm. Findings will support implementation of knowledge into practice.