Does child abuse have an impact on self-esteem, depression, anxiety and stress conditions of individuals?

Background: The present study addressed the effects of child abuse in early adulthood.

Aims: The purpose of the study was to determine the direct and indirect effects of child abuse on self-esteem, depression, anxiety and stress levels.

Method: The participants of the study were 636 students (477 females and 159 males) studying at three different state universities in Turkey. Data were collected through 'Childhood Trauma Questionnaire', 'Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS)', 'Two-Dimensional Self-Esteem Scale (Self-Liking/Self-Competence)' and 'Demographic Information Form'. The obtained data were analyzed with Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and path analysis techniques via SPSS 23 and AMOS 22.

Results: Considering the relationship between the variables, child abuse was found to be negatively correlated with self-esteem, while it was positively correlated with depression, anxiety and stress. As a result of the path analysis, it was observed that child abuse affected self-esteem directly in the negative way. Throughout the analysis, self-esteem was found to have a direct and negative effect on depression, anxiety and stress, respectively. Child abuse was also found to have an indirect effect on depression, anxiety and stress.

Conclusion: Self-esteem had full mediation effect between child abuse, and depression, anxiety and stress.