Maltreatment experience in childhood and average excess body mass from adolescence to young adulthood

Citation

Sokol, Rebeccah L.; Ennett, Susan T.; Shanahan, Meghan E.; Gottfredson, Nisha C.; Poti, Jennifer M.; Halpern, Carolyn T.; & Fisher, Edwin B. (2019). Maltreatment experience in childhood and average excess body mass from adolescence to young adulthood. Child Abuse & Neglect. vol. 96

Abstract

Background Prior studies have suggested maltreatment is a strong predictor of later weight outcomes, such that maltreatment experiences in childhood increase the likelihood of being overweight or obese in adulthood. Estimates of this relationship may be biased due to: 1) inadequate selection of covariates; 2) improper operationalization of child maltreatment; and 3) restricting analyses to cross-sectional outcomes. Objectives Evaluate how latent classes of child maltreatment experiences are associated with a longitudinal BMI measure from adolescence to adulthood. Participants Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Methods We evaluated how previously developed latent classes of child maltreatment experiences were associated with average excess BMI from adolescence to adulthood using multivariate linear regression. Results In the unadjusted model, individuals in the poly-maltreatment class (b = 0.46, s.e. = 0.20) and individuals who experienced adolescent-onset maltreatment (b = 0.36, s.e. = 0.11) had higher average excess BMI compared to individuals in the no maltreatment class. After adjusting for confounders, the relationship between poly-maltreatment and average excess BMI abated, whereas the relationship between adolescent-onset maltreatment and average excess BMI sustained (b = 0.28, s.e. = 0.11). Conclusions Contrary to previous findings, our analyses suggest the association between maltreatment experiences and longitudinal weight outcomes dissipates after controlling for relevant confounders. We did find a relationship, however, between adolescent-onset maltreatment and average excess BMI from adolescence to adulthood. This suggests the importance of maltreatment timing in the relationship between maltreatment and weight.

URL

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104070

Keyword(s)

Child maltreatment

Reference Type

Journal Article

Journal Title

Child Abuse & Neglect

Author(s)

Sokol, Rebeccah L.
Ennett, Susan T.
Shanahan, Meghan E.
Gottfredson, Nisha C.
Poti, Jennifer M.
Halpern, Carolyn T.
Fisher, Edwin B.

Year Published

2019

Volume Number

96

DOI

10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104070

Reference ID

5928