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Health-related quality of life of maltreated children and adolescents who attended a service center in Brazil

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Abstract

Purpose

This study’s aim was to evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and associated factors of maltreated children and adolescents.

Methods

This cross-sectional study consisted of individuals between 8 and 17 years of age who were victims of maltreatment. The KIDSCREEN-52 was used to measure their HRQoL. Socioeconomic and demographic data were collected, as well as information about the type of abuse, type of perpetrator, and psychological support adherence. The Kruskal–Wallis test was used to analyze the scores of the KIDSCREEN-52 by the independent variables.

Results

One hundred and thirteen victims answered the questionnaire. Girls and adolescents had a lower overall HRQoL score (p < 0.05). Children who suffered from sexual abuse had a lowest score on the moods and emotions dimension than children who suffered from physical abuse (p < 0.05). There was a lowest score on the autonomy dimension among the children who suffered maltreatment by an extrafamilial perpetrator than those who were victimized by an intrafamilial perpetrator (p < 0.05). A lower score on the psychological well-being was observed among the children who adhered to the psychological support program provided by the service compared to those who terminated the service before completion (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Adolescents and girls were associated with lower HRQoL scores. There was no association between the overall HRQoL score and the characteristics of the maltreatment; however, the type of abuse and the victim’s relationship with the perpetrator were only related to some dimensions. These findings may assist maltreatment care providers in planning strategies to reduce the consequences that violence may cause.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Brazilian Agency for the Improvement of Higher Educational Professionals (CAPES) for the Master’s course scholarship granted, as well as the NACA staff, for the collaboration in the execution of this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Postgraduate Program in Dentistry, Federal University of Pelotas, Rua Gonçalves Chaves 457, 96015-560, Pelotas, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil

    Ivam Freire da Silva-Júnior, Andréia Drawanz Hartwig, Marília Leão Goettems & Marina Sousa Azevedo

  2. Dentistry College, Federal University of Pelotas, Rua Gonçalves Chaves 457, 96015-560, Pelotas, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil

    Giulia Tarquinio Demarco, Vanessa Müller Stüermer, Marília Leão Goettems & Marina Sousa Azevedo

  3. Postgraduate Program in Social and Institutional Psychology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Ramiro Barcelos, 2600, 90035-003, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil

    Gisele Scobernatti

  4. Department of Social and Preventive Dentistry, Federal University of Pelotas, Rua Gonçalves Chaves, 457, Centro, 96015-560, Pelotas, RS, Brazil

    Marília Leão Goettems & Marina Sousa Azevedo

Authors
  1. Ivam Freire da Silva-Júnior
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  2. Andréia Drawanz Hartwig
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  3. Giulia Tarquinio Demarco
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  4. Vanessa Müller Stüermer
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  5. Gisele Scobernatti
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  6. Marília Leão Goettems
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  7. Marina Sousa Azevedo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marina Sousa Azevedo.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Research involving human participants

The study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Pelotas (Protocol Number: 1.267.179), and all parents/guardians and children or adolescents who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were invited to participate.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Parents who agreed to participate signed the consent form, and the child or adolescent signed the approval form.

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da Silva-Júnior, I.F., Hartwig, A.D., Demarco, G.T. et al. Health-related quality of life of maltreated children and adolescents who attended a service center in Brazil. Qual Life Res 27, 2157–2164 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-018-1881-9

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