Childhood maltreatment and decision-making autonomy in adulthood: The mediating roles of self-esteem and social support.

BACKGROUND

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is connected with a large number of maladaptive long-term outcomes. Effective prevention and intervention hinges partly on our understanding of the key mediating mechanisms that help account for the relationship between child maltreatment and its long-term consequences. We know the consequences of CM can extend into adulthood, including the intergenerational transmission of violence, re-victimization, high-risk behavior, and persisting mental health problems. We argue that CM also likely affects decision-making autonomy in adulthood, limiting their independence and exaggerating their risk for other poor outcomes. We suggest that the effects of CM on self-esteem and access to social support mediate this relationship, helping to explain how and why CM impacts autonomy in the long term.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine these relationships using a cross-sectional sample of currently married women of Bangladesh aged 15-49 years (N = 426).

METHOD: A multi-stage random sampling technique was employed for data collection and a multivariate logistic regression technique was applied for data analysis.

RESULTS

Results from the multivariate logistic regression model revealed a direct effect of a history of CM on limited decision-making autonomy in adulthood and a full mediating effect of self-esteem and social support on the associations between CM and decision-making autonomy in women, even after adjusting for theoretically and empirically relevant covariates.

CONCLUSIONS

The study findings provide insight into the mechanisms by which early childhood experiences impact autonomous decision-making. However, causality cannot be determined because of the cross-sectional design. Finally, our findings suggest that the influence of CM on autonomy could be augmented by self-esteem recovery through social support from family, friends, and peers.