Link between childhood abuse and adult unemployment and poverty

The National Institute of Mental Health (America) has released a Ph.D study by David Zielinski that has linked childhood maltreatment to higher rates of unemployment and poverty.

It is generally understood that negative early life experiences can adversely affect a person’s physical and mental health in adulthood but few studies have looked at the link between childhood maltreatment and later socioeconomic well-being.

Results from the study:

> Adults who were physically or sexually abused or experienced any type of maltreatment in childhood had a higher chance of being unemployed compared to non-victims, as well as living below the poverty line and using social services.
> There was an increased risk of unemployment related to the type of abuse. Those who were physically abused had a 140% increased chance of being unemployed while those with multiple forms of abuse had a 190% increase.
>However, those who had been sexually abused or experienced severe neglect did not show differences in unemployment compared to non-victims
>Physical abuse resulted in a 60% increased chance of living below the poverty line, which rose to 180% for those with multiple forms of abuse

Implications:

>Why are some forms of abuse linked to higher levels of unemployment than others?
>Assessing childhood abuse in the unemployed may aid increased targeted job training and job counselling programs for this population.

See http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2009/history-of-childhood-maltreatment-linked-to-higher-rates-of-unemployment-poverty.shtml