Adolescent emotional abuse according to the mother's report: The interactive role of adolescent's and mother's mental health problems

Regarding the factors in the child and parent that increase the likelihood of emotional abuse, this study aimed to compare the prevalence and rate of emotional abuse in adolescents concerning the interaction of maternal and adolescent's mental health problems. 

This causal-comparative study was conducted in the academic year of 2018-2019. Through the cluster sampling, 402 mothers and children were selected from the cities of Tehran, Hamadan, and Boldaji-Iran. We used the Emotional Abuse Questionnaire (Parenting Form), Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), and Aachenbach's Self-Reporting Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, two-way ANOVA, independent t-test, and SPSS version 20. 

The prevalence of severe emotional abuse in adolescents was 11.7%. In healthy adolescents with healthy mothers, this prevalence was 3.7%, while it increased to 21.3% if the mother had mental health problems. In adolescents with mental health problems who had healthy mothers, this prevalence was 13.0%, but it was up to 50.0% in adolescents with mental health problems who had mothers with mental health problems. Adolescents with mental health problems are more severely emotionally abused than adolescents without these problems by mothers with and without mental health problems (P< 0.01). Also, mothers with mental health problems are more emotionally abused adolescents with and without problems than mothers without mental health problems (P< 0.01). 

The prevalence of emotional abuse in adolescents is high, and the presence of mental health problems in mothers and adolescents increase the level of emotional abuse in adolescents.