Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41618693›Full record

ArticleJournal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines2026

Psycho-social factors associated with disagreement between prospective and retrospective measures of childhood maltreatment.

Oonagh Coleman, Jessie R Baldwin, Louise Arseneault, Helen L Fisher, Terrie E Moffitt, Andrea Danese

Abstract readTwin Study
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Oonagh ColemanSocial, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID 0009-0008-2590-1995
Jessie R BaldwinSocial, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-5703-5058
Louise ArseneaultSocial, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-2938-2191
Helen L FisherSocial, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-4174-2126
Terrie E MoffittSocial, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Andrea DaneseSocial, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-8718-5412

Funding

Economic and Social Research Council ES/S012567/1Medical Research Council G1002190Medical Research Council MR/X010791/1Mental Health Research UKNational Institute for Health and Care Research NIHR203318US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development HD077482Wellcome Trust 215917/Z/19/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundProspective and retrospective measures of childhood maltreatment often identify different individuals and are differentially associated with psychopathology. This study examines psycho-social factors that may explain discrepancies between these measures.

methodsData were drawn from the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally representative birth cohort of 2,232 children born in 1994-1995 across England and Wales and followed to age 18 (93% retention). Childhood maltreatment was assessed through: (a) prospective assessments from caregivers, researchers, and clinicians at ages 5-12, and (b) retrospective self-reports at age 18 using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (for maltreatment occurring up to age 12). For the analyses, we focused on participants identified as maltreated from either measure (n = 290) and an a-priori selected array of potential explanatory variables assessed between ages 5-18. We conducted two sets of analyses: comparing individuals with only prospectively identified maltreatment to those identified by both prospective and retrospective measures to understand why some participants did not retrospectively report or recall maltreatment; and comparing individuals with only retrospective self-reports to those identified by both prospective and retrospective measures to understand why maltreatment had not been detected prospectively.

resultsParticipants in the prospective-only group reported greater social support over the life course and lower psychopathology at age 18 compared to those identified through both prospective and retrospective measures. Individuals in the retrospective-only group had higher socioeconomic status, higher self-reported adult involvement at age 12, and less exposure to domestic violence compared to those identified through both prospective and retrospective measures.

conclusionsOur findings suggest that perceptions of social support and better mental health may buffer retrospective recall of childhood maltreatment in those with prospective measures. Furthermore, more positive family functioning and socioeconomic factors may hamper prospective detection of childhood maltreatment in those who retrospectively report it.

Indexed as

Child AbuseSelf ReportSocial SupportAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolEnglandFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleProspective StudiesRetrospective StudiesWalesChildhood traumamaltreatmentmeasurementrisk detection

Identifiers

PMID41618693
PMCPMC13265631

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.