The association of depression and child maltreatments among Indonesian adolescents

Abstract Background Depression is one of the most prevalent emotional mental health problem among adolescents. Mental health problem might be contributed by child maltreatment. Prevalence of mental health problem and maltreatment among adolescent in Indonesia are increasing. This study aims at determining association between depression and history of maltreatment among adolescent Methods The analytic cross-sectional study was conducted to 786 junior high school students of Bandung City, West Java, Indonesia. Subject was selected by using two stage clustered method. The questionnaire of Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) and ISPCAN Child Abuse Screening Tool (ICAST) were used to assess depression and history of maltreatment respectively. Depression confirmation was diagnosed by psychiatry based on scored positive in CDI. Data were analyzed using chi-square and multiple regression test. Results History of child maltreatment is associated with depressive disorders in adolescents (p = 0.03). All dimension of child maltreatment had significant association with depression (p <0.05). Psychological violence was the highest risk factor for the occurrence of depressive disorders (PR = 6.51), followed by violence exposure and physical violence. Sexual violence was not a common dimension of child maltreatment experienced by students. The history of psychological violence has the strongest association with depression, which three times more likely to have depression (POR = 3.302, p = 0.004) Conclusion The study showed association between a history of child maltreatment and depression in adolescents.