Childhood exposure to emotional abuse and later life stress among Kenyan women: a mediation analysis of cross-sectional data

ABSTRACT

Background and objective: We explore whether perceived stress among Kenyan mothers is predicted by childhood exposure to emotional abuse – both witnessed among parents and experienced directly. Further, we explore whether this association is mediated by social support, family functioning and polygynous marriage.

Design: We used cross-sectional data from a systematic random sample (n = 1974) of mothers in semi-rural Kenya.

Methods: Data were collected using validated scales and trained interviewers. Analyses were conducted using bootstrapped structural equation models and fixed-effects linear regression models, controlling for age and household wealth.

Results: Reported experience of emotional abuse – both directly experienced and observed among household adults – was high in the present population (72.5% and 69%, respectively). Perceived stress among women was significantly higher if they were exposed to more emotional abuse during childhood (p < .001). Lower social support, worse family functioning and higher rates of polygynous marriage mediated pathways between emotional abuse exposure during childhood and adult perceived stress.

Conclusion: Future research should investigate whether social integration, identity formation and self-esteem underlie observed dynamics in sub-Saharan Africa. Efforts to promote social integration and support should target children currently experiencing emotional abuse, and may include child-targeted high quality television programing and adult-targeted media and celebrity campaigns.

KEYWORDS:

• Emotional abuse
• Kenya
• perceived stress
• social support
• mediation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 ACEs describe a set of categories of exposures; adverse childhoods describe the type of childhood (vs. less adverse) and emotional abuse is a subset of ACEs that is under-explored in the current setting.

2 Polygynous marriages involve one male partner and more than one female partner. Perhaps a more familiar term, “polygamous,” will be expected by certain readers. This term refers to multiple partners of either gender.