Child Abuse and Neglect Volume II

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce a Special Issue on child abuse and neglect. An important focus will be on endeavors to protect children.

Background and history of the topic:

The ‘Adverse Childhood Experience Study’ and other important investigations have revealed a profound effect of child abuse or neglect on mental, physical and social health throughout one’s lifespan. Epidemiological data suggest global prevalence rates of up to 20% for childhood sexual abuse and even higher rates of up to 23% for childhood physical abuse. Higher rates of behavioral, psychological and physical problems have been reported as persisting into adulthood, thereby potentially affecting the victim’s children. The consequences range from an increased risk for cardiovascular dysfunction to impaired psychosocial functioning and related psychological disorders throughout life.

Some authors have stressed the importance of parental psychopathology, and in particular, maternal depression and PTSD or certain psychosocial factors such as social support, poverty or substance abuse, when determining the risk of abuse.

In the last 20 years, a growing body of research has started to suggest that child abuse not only causes considerable and longstanding complications for the person concerned, but may provoke considerable transgenerational effects by acting as a risk factor for mental health in the offspring. Victims of childhood abuse are at risk for maladaptive development, and childhood maltreatment appears to have an impact on the next generation as well. Three-generational studies revealed that approximately fifty percent of abused parents transmit their history of abuse to their offspring. In general, neurobiology as well as physiology has been described to be vastly altered in victims of childhood abuse.

On another important note, children of mothers experiencing child abuse were shown to have deficits in their social-emotional development and to be at an elevated risk for emotional and behavioral problems that are considered precursors of ODD, ADHD, and affective disorders or other psychiatric disturbances.

Aim  [*] Aim and scope of the Special Issue:

One important target is developmental pathways linking child abuse and child mental illness, which include neurobiological mechanisms or genetic influences and gene–environment interactions. In general, the central spotlight of the research should focus on child or adult victims of chronic maltreatment, the placement into foster care or institutional deprivation. Another significant topic is emotional abuse, which, regarding its frequency, still seems to be vastly understudied. Furthermore, endocrine consequences, e.g., a potentially altered HPA-axis functioning and differences in prenatal programming in HoA victims is a subject of interest in this Special Issue. Prospective longitudinal studies are needed to shed light on functioning, influential factors, developmental pathways and, ultimately, consequences for the developing child.

 [*] Cutting-edge research:

The deteriorating effect of child abuse on the ability to regulate emotions and tolerate stress and tension needs to be focused on, specifically with its relation to the developmental trauma concept. Developmental trauma disorder with the transdiagnostic characteristics of emotional dysregulation is a highly innovative construct in need of scientific elucidation. 

Endeavors of prevention have focused on the transgenerational ‘cycle of abuse’, i.e., the possibility that experiences of childhood abuse could interfere with later parenting behavior, the perception of one’s own parenting abilities, and the perception of and interaction with the child. Specifically, research on neurobiological mechanisms, including via brain imaging techniques, has revealed cutting-edge knowledge on an abused mother’s reaction to and processing of child stimuli.

With a focus on prevention, physically harsher parenting practices in parents with an abusive childhood and “black and white” or negative perceptions of themselves as a parent have been reported. Endeavors to treat or prevent severe interactional disturbances in the parent–child relationship are of utmost scientific and clinical relevance.

[*] What kind of papers we are soliciting:

This Special Issue on the topic of child maltreatment invites researchers to share their work related to the improvement of parent–child interactions, psychological and social risk factors, and longitudinal consequences of all different forms of abuse in early life. Additionally, evaluation studies on diagnostic standards and state-of-the-art work flows dealing with child abuse in clinical practice are highly welcome. Articles contributing to a transdiagnostic focus and a novel view on diagnostic and therapeutic standards of child psychiatry in general will be highly welcomed.

Another focus is research targeting neurobiological and psychophysiological sequelae of child abuse. Other topics of specific interest are concepts of child protection, efforts of prevention and intervention regarding parent–child interactions, and low-threshold interventions for children and caregivers.

Another challenging issue is the developmental trauma disorder concept and its relation to the ICD-10 and DSMV. Additionally, introducing work flows in schools, childcare facilities or child psychiatric clinics targeting caregivers, and children and their parents’ childhoods are important topics worth discussing.

Prof. Dr. Eva Möhler
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• child abuse
• sexual abuse
• emotional abuse
• physical abuse
• child maltreatment
• child protection
• parent–child interaction
• intergenerational transmission
• early life stress
• early life maltreatment
• developmental trauma disorder
• developmental trauma