Childhood emotional abuse and adult psychopathology: A multilevel meta-analytic review.

Abstract

Childhood abuse is a known risk factor for adult psychopathology. The associations between childhood physical abuse (PA) and sexual abuse (SA) and adult psychopathology are more widely documented than those involving childhood emotional abuse (EA). We conducted a multilevel meta-analysis to examine how adult psychopathology relates to childhood EA in comparison to childhood PA and SA. Six electronic databases were searched to identify studies reporting associations between childhood EA, PA, and SA and adult psychopathology symptoms, and 414 effect sizes from 104 studies were analyzed. Results from 113,673 participants revealed that EA, PA, and SA were all significantly associated with adult psychopathology (r = 0.34, r = 0.25, and r = 0.23, respectively), and a key strength was that associations were estimated while statistically controlling for co-occurring abuse types. EA demonstrated the strongest association with several psychiatric syndromes, most notably depressive, anxiety, personality, psychotic, and substance use syndromes, across populations and settings. These associations were not moderated by demographics, sample source, diagnostic system, or assessment measure. Because studies relied on retrospective self-report and cross-sectional designs, findings should be interpreted cautiously. Nevertheless, findings challenge the perception that EA is less harmful than PA and SA. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).