Maltreatment during Childhood in a Community-Dwelling Sample of Men

Abstract

This article describes the occurrence, cooccurrence, and severity of childhood maltreatment (CM) among adult males. The average participant was age 44, recruited from public gatherings, read and spoke English, and attended work or school. Data from the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and demographic form were analyzed using descriptive, parametric, and nonparametric statistics. Most participants reported at least one type of CM (71.4%): emotional abuse (46.9%), physical abuse (42.9%), sexual abuse (16.3%), emotional neglect (49.0%), and physical neglect (32.7%). Maltreatment severity increased with the number of maltreatment types, F(5, 43) = 29.0, p = .000. CM was frequent and severe in this sample of men. A graded relationship might exist between the number of maltreatment types and maltreatment severity.

KEYWORDS:

• abuse
• adult males
• maltreatment
• men
• neglect