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Single mothers are more
likely than married mothers to
have suffered abuse when they were children,
new study results suggest. What's more, single mothers also tend to have
lower incomes and are more likely to have psychiatric problems, such as
anxiety or depression, compared with their married counterparts.
The study authors also point out that all women who
had been abused -- married or not -- were more
likely to suffer psychiatric problems as
adults.
In the survey of 1,471 mothers in Ontario, Canada, investigators found
that single women reported suffering severe child abuse nearly twice
as often as married women.
Almost half of single mothers were poor,
compared with less than 10% of married mothers. And anxiety
and depression were more common
among single mothers. The associations remained regardless of the women's
age, income or education.
The findings suggest that doctors need to ask women who are anxious or
depressed if they suffered abuse as children. And doctors should be aware
of the high prevalence of childhood abuse among single mothers. Mental
health treatment, the researchers note, may be effective when there is
a history of abuse.
American Journal of Psychiatry 2001;158:73-77
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