Cross-cultural comparisons of child-reported emotional and physical abuse: rates, risk factors and psychosocial symptoms

Abstract Objectives: This study was designed to assess the incidence of child emotional and physical abuse, associated risk factors and psychosocial symptoms in a cross-cultural comparison between post-communist bloc countries. Method: One-thousand one-hundred forty-five children ages 10–14 from Latvia (N=297), Lithuania (N=300), Macedonia (N=302), and Moldova (N=246) participated in the study. They completed questionnaires assessing their experience of emotional or physical abuse, and provided information about family risk-factors and psychosocial symptoms, including PTSD-related symptoms. Results: Incidence rates of maltreatment differed by country, as did levels of reported psychosocial …