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Why, when and how to ask about childhood abuse
Open accessAbstract
Subscribers to the medical model of the causation of madness and distress emphasise the role of genes and can severely underestimate the impact of traumatic events on the development of the human mind. This bias persists despite the worldwide popular wisdom that mental illness arises when bad things happen to people. Childhood physical and sexual abuse and neglect are extremely common experiences among those who develop serious mental health problems. Unfortunately, victims are typically reluctant to disclose their histories of abuse and practitioners are often reluctant to seek it. We explore the nature and extent of the problem and the apparent reasons for the pervasive neglect of this important area of care. Then, on the basis of our experience in New Zealand, we provide guidelines on asking patients about childhood abuse and describe an ongoing initiative in the UK to further advance our understanding of the impact of abuse and our skills to detect it and treat survivors.
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“Re- traumatization amongst people accessing mental healthcare has been receiving growing attention in research but despite this, trauma exposure and re- traumatization are often not recognized in acute mental health inpatient settings (Chambers et al., 2014 ; Duckworth & Follette, 2012 ; Read et al., 2007 ).”
From A qualitative synthesis of patients' experiences of re-traumatization in acute mental health inpatient settings (2023) · cites this paper as Read et al., 2007
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“People in contact with mental health services who have experienced childhood trauma have longer and more frequent hospital admissions, are prescribed more medication, and are more likely to self- harm and attempt suicide (Kessler et al., 2010 ;”
From A qualitative synthesis of patients' experiences of re-traumatization in acute mental health inpatient settings (2023) · cites this paper as Read et al., 2007
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“People in contact with mental health services who have experienced childhood trauma have longer and more frequent hospital admissions, are prescribed more medication, and are more likely to self- harm and attempt suicide (Kessler et al., 2010 ;”
From A qualitative synthesis of patients' experiences of re-traumatization in acute mental health inpatient settings (2023) · cites this paper as Read et al., 2007
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“People in contact with mental health services who have experienced childhood trauma have longer and more frequent hospital admissions, are prescribed more medication, and are more likely to self- harm and attempt suicide (Kessler et al., 2010 ;”
From A qualitative synthesis of patients' experiences of re-traumatization in acute mental health inpatient settings (2023) · cites this paper as Read et al., 2007
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1 of the 72 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 6
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Childhood adversities and adult psychopathology in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys
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Metadata
- Authors
- Read, J., Hammersley, P., & Rudegeair, T.
- Affiliations
- University of Auckland (NZ)
- Corresponding author
- Read, John
- ORCID
- Read, John
- Venue
- Advances in Psychiatric Treatment
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2007-03
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 101-110
- ISSN
- 1355-5146 (ISSN-L)
- 1472-1481
- OpenAlex
- W2124764442
- Cited by
- 273
- References
- 72
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 28 · 2012: 12
- FWCI
- 12.32
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Advances in Psychiatric Treatment (publishedVersion)
- Swinburne figshare (Swinburne University of Technology) (submittedVersion)
- ResearchSpace (University of Auckland) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Military, Security, and Education Studies
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Keywords
- childhood abuse, child neglect, child sexual abuse, child physical abuse, trauma, mental illness, medical model of mental illness, genetic determinism, trauma-informed care, abuse detection, clinical guidelines
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