Child abuse and its long-term consequences : an exploratory study on Egyptian university students

Abstract EN

Introduction : child abuse and its long-term consequences in adulthood have been recently gaining increased attention in the Arab world.

This study is an extension of a similar study in Saudi Arabia, and aims to explore some epidemiological characteristics of the problem in Egypt. Aims : to study the prevalence of child abuse and associated psychological problems in adulthood, as presented in a sample of university students in Egypt. Method: 963 students, from three different colleges of Zagazig University (Medicine, Education and Arts and Literature) answered multi-questionnaires including: General health Questionnaire (GHQ), Child Traumatic Questionnaire (CTQ) and Psychological Problem Scale (PPS). Results : Students reported having suffered Emotional neglect (19%), Emotional abuse (8.9%), Physical neglect (44%) and Physical abuse (6%) and Sexual abuse (13%). Moderate to severe childhood abuse was correlated with various combinations of psychological problems (Low Self-Esteem, Dissociation, Self Harm, Impulsivity and Aggression) in adulthood.

Gender and situational stresses, as indicated by GHQ, did not seem to influence the results as much as low income and large family size. Conclusion: a large proportion of our sample reported both child abuse and several long-term pathological consequences of abuse in adulthood.

The problem seems to be serious in this middle class sample and it remains possible that these problems could be worse in lower social classes.