Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Gender Differences in Childhood Maltreatment: A Comparative Study of Nightmare Sufferers and Non-sufferers

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Child maltreatment has been identified as a significant problem, both within India and outside. According to UNICEF, over the last decade, there has been a growing recognition about this, but the problem has remained unresolved largely due to being underreported and undocumented. Previous research in this area has reported inconsistent gender differences across the world. Besides, there are shreds of evidence to suggest that childhood maltreatment would be associated with nightmares later in life, but a handful of studies exist in this context. Moreover, there is a paucity of research concerning the interaction effect of gender and group (nightmare sufferer vs non-sufferer) on childhood maltreatment. Owing to the insufficient research and inconsistent findings, the present study aimed to investigate gender differences in childhood maltreatment among nightmare sufferers as compared to non-sufferers. A total of 120 participants were selected from New Delhi. The results of two-way ANOVA suggest that the nightmares later in life would be associated with the abuse and neglect experienced during childhood as nightmare sufferer group reported having higher rates of child abuse and neglect than non-sufferers. It also suggests that male participants in general experience childhood maltreatment more than females; however, emotional abuse was experienced by males only if they belonged to the nightmare sufferer group.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agargun, M. Y., Kara, H., Ozer, O. A., Selvi, Y., Kiran, U., & Kiran, S. (2003). Nightmares and dissociative experiences: The key role of childhood traumatic events. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 57(2), 139–145. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1819.2003.01093.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Al-Eissa, M. A., AlBuhairan, F. S., Qayad, M., Saleheen, H., Runyan, D., & Almuneef, M. (2015). Determining child maltreatment incidence in Saudi Arabia using the ICAST-CH: A pilot study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 42, 174–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Al-Eissa, M. A., Saleheen, H. N., AlMadani, S., AlBuhairan, F. S., Weber, A., Fluke, J. D., et al. (2016). Determining prevalence of maltreatment among children in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Child: Care, Health and Development, 42(4), 565–571.

    Google Scholar 

  • Al-Mahroos, F., & Al-Amer, E. (2011). Reported child sexual abuse in Bahrain: 2000–2009. Annals of Saudi Medicine, 31(4), 376–382. https://doi.org/10.4103/0256-4947.83218.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • American Academy of Sleep Medicine. (2014). International classification of sleep disorders (3rd ed.). Darien: American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5). American Psychiatric Pub.

  • Banyard, V. L., Williams, L. M., & Siegel, J. A. (2004). Childhood sexual abuse: A gender perspective on context and consequences. Child Maltreatment, 9(3), 223–238. https://doi.org/10.1177/107755904266914.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bernstein, D. P., & Fink, L. (1998). Childhood Trauma Questionnaire: A retrospective self-report manual. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.

  • Bernstein, D. P., Fink, L., Handelsman, L., Foote, J., Lovejoy, M., Wenzel, K., Sapareto, E., & Ruggiero, J. (1994). Initial reliability and validity of a new retrospective measure of child abuse and neglect. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 1132–1136.

  • Berquier, A., & Ashton, R. (1992). Characteristics of the frequent nightmare sufferer. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 101(2), 246–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers, E., & Belicki, K. (1998). Using sleep dysfunction to explore the nature of resilience in adult survivors of childhood abuse or trauma. Child Abuse & Neglect, 22(8), 753–758. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(98)00059-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charak, R. (2015, August 16). Global perspectives child abuse and neglect in India: Prevalence and policy recommendations. International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. Retrieved December 22, 2020 from: https://istss.org/public-resources/trauma-blog/2015-august/global-perspectives-childabuse-and-neglect-in-ind.

  • Charak, R., & Koot, H. M. (2014). Abuse and neglect in adolescents of Jammu, India: The role of gender, family structure, and parental education. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 28(6), 590–598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2014.06.006.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Charak, R., & Koot, H. M. (2015). Severity of maltreatment and personality pathology in adolescents of Jammu, India: A latent class approach. Child Abuse & Neglect, 50, 56–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.05.010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choo, W.-Y., Dunne, M. P., Marret, M. J., Fleming, M., & Wong, Y.-L. (2011). Victimization experiences of adolescents in Malaysia. Journal of Adolescent Health, 49(6), 627–634. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2011.04.020.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choudhry, V., Dayal, R., Pillai, D., Kalokhe, A. S., Beier, K., & Patel, V. (2018). Child sexual abuse in India: A systematic review. PLoS One, 13(10), e0205086.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christoffersen, M. N., Armour, C., Lasgaard, M., Andersen, T. E., & Elklit, A. (2013). The prevalence of four types of childhood maltreatment in Denmark. Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health, 9, 149–156. https://doi.org/10.2174/1745017901309010149.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (2005). Child maltreatment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 1(1), 409–438.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cuddy, M. A., & Belicki, K. (1992). Nightmare frequency and related sleep disturbance as indicators of a history of sexual abuse. Dreaming, 2(1), 15–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duval, M., McDuff, P., & Zadra, A. (2013). Nightmare frequency, nightmare distress, and psychopathology in female victims of childhood maltreatment. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 201(9), 767–772.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gagnier, C., & Collin-Vézina, D. (2016). The disclosure experiences of male child sexual abuse survivors. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 25(2), 221–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartmann, E. (1998). Dreams and nightmares. New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haupt, M., Sheldon, S. H., & Loghmanee, D. (2013). Just a scary dream? A brief review of sleep terrors, nightmares, and rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder. Pediatric Annals, 42(10), 211–216. https://doi.org/10.3928/00904481-20130924-12.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Iffland, B., Brähler, E., Neuner, F., Häuser, W., & Glaesmer, H. (2013). Frequency of child maltreatment in a representative sample of the German population. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 980.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kacker, L., Varadan, S., & Kumar, P. (2007). Study on child abuse: India 2007. New Delhi: Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.

  • Koç, E. M., Dağlı, F. S., Aksakal, F. N., & Özkara, A. (2018). Exploring prevalence of child abuse: Use of ICAST-retrospective instrument with the first-year medical students in a university. Konuralp Medical Journal, 10(1), 7–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krakow, B., Kellner, R., Pathak, D., & Lambert, L. (1995). Imagery rehearsal treatment for chronic nightmares. Behavior Research and Therapy, 33, 837–843.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krug, E., Dahlberg, L., Mercy, J., Zwi, A. and Lozano, R. (2002). World Report on Violence and Health. apps.who.int.

  • LeardMann, C. A., Smith, B., & Ryan, M. A. (2010). Do adverse childhood experiences increase the risk of postdeployment posttraumatic stress disorder in US marines? BMC Public Health, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-10-437.

  • Lee, Y., & Kim, S. (2011). Childhood maltreatment in South Korea: Retrospective study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 35(12), 1037–1044.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levin, R., & Fireman, G. (2002). Nightmare prevalence, nightmare distress, and self-reported psychological disturbance. Sleep, 25, 205–212. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/25.2.205.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Levin, R., & Nielsen, T. A. (2007). Disturbed dreaming, posttraumatic stress disorder, and affect distress: A review and neurocognitive model. Psychological Bulletin, 133(3), 482–528.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lobbestael, J., Arntz, A., & Bernstein, D. P. (2010). Disentangling the relationship between different types of childhood maltreatment and personality disorders. Journal of Personality Disorders, 24, 285–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mack, J. (1974). Nightmares and human conflict (pp. 16, 59, 111–115). Boston: Little, Brown. Mindell, J., & Barrett, K. (2002). Nightmares and anxiety in elementary-aged children: Is there a relationship? Child: Care, Health and Development, 28, 317–322.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moran, P. B., Vuchinich, S., & Hall, N. K. (2004). Associations between types of maltreatment and substance use during adolescence. Child Abuse and Neglect, 28, 565–574.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, C., & Fisher, H. (2007). Environmental factors in schizophrenia: Childhood trauma – A critical review. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 33, 3–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen, H. T., Dunne, M. P., & Le, A. V. (2009). Multiple types of child maltreatment and adolescent mental health in Viet Nam. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 87, 22–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, T. (2017). The stress acceleration hypothesis of nightmares. Frontiers in Neurology, 8, 201. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2017.00201.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, T. A., & Levin, R. (2007). Nightmares: A new neurocognitive model. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 11, 295–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, T., Carr, M., Picard-Deland, C., Marquis, L.-P., Saint-Onge, K., Blanchette-Carrière, C., & Paquette, T. (2019). Early childhood adversity associations with nightmare severity and sleep spindles. Sleep Medicine, 56, 57–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2019.03.004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Petit, D., Pennestri, M. H., Paquet, J., Desautels, A., Zadra, A., Vitaro, F., Tremblay, R. E., Boivin, M., & Montplaisir, J. (2015). Childhood Sleepwalking and Sleep Terrors. JAMA Pediatrics, 169(7), 653–658. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.127.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, N. K., Hammen, C. L., Brennan, P. A., Najman, J. K., & Bor, W. (2005). Early adversity and the prospective prediction of depressive and anxiety disorders in adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33, 13–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robert, G., & Zadra, A. (2008). Measuring nightmare and bad dream frequency: Impact of retrospective and prospective instruments. Journal of Sleep Research, 17(2), 132–139. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2008.00649.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salem, M., Dargham, S. R., Kamal, M., Eldeeb, N., Alyafei, K. A., Lynch, M. A., Mian, M., & Mahfoud, Z. R. (2020). Effect of gender on childhood maltreatment in the state of Qatar: Retrospective study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 101, 104314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schilling, C., Weidner, K., Brähler, E., Glaesmer, H., Häuser, W., & Pöhlmann, K. (2016). Patterns of childhood abuse and neglect in a representative German population sample. PLoS One, 11(7), e0159510. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159510.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sedlak, A. J., Mettenburg, J., Basena, M., Petta, I., McPherson, K., Greene, A., & Li, S. (2010). Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS–4): Report to congress. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/opre/nis4_report_congress_full_pdf_jan2010.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simsek, E., Guney, S. A., & Baysal, S. U. (2017). A retrospective study with ICAST-R (ISPCAN child abuse screening tools-retrospective) questionnaire for determination of child abuse in first-year medical students in Turkish population. Child Abuse & Neglect, 69, 125–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spoormaker, V. I., Schredl, M., & van den Bout, J. (2006). Nightmares: From anxiety symptoms to sleep disorder. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 10(1), 19–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stoltenborgh, M., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Alink, L. R. A., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2012). The universality of childhood emotional abuse: A meta-analysis of worldwide prevalence. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 21(8), 870–890.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stoltenborgh, M., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., van IJzendoorn, M. H., & Alink, L. R. A. (2013). Cultural–geographical differences in the occurrence of child physical abuse? A meta-analysis of global prevalence. International Journal of Psychology, 48(2), 81–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stoltenborgh, M., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Alink, L. R. A., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2015). The prevalence of child maltreatment across the globe: Review of a series of meta-analyses. Child Abuse Review, 24(1), 37–50. https://doi.org/10.1002/car.2353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tiwari, B. N., Bhaskar, S., Shanker, R., Kale, S., Kumar, S. P., & Kumar, R. (2018). Children in India 2018- A statistical appraisal. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation Government of India. Retrieved December 22, 2020 from: http://mospi.nic.in/sites/default/files/publication_reports/Children%20in%20India%202018%20%E2%80%93%20A%20Statistical%20Appraisal_26oct18.pdf.

  • Ulukol, B., Kahiloğulları, A. K., & Sethi, D. (2014). Adverse childhood experiences survey among university students in Turkey – Study report 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2020 from: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/267472/Adverse-childhood-experiences-survey-amonguniversity-students-in-Turkey-Eng.

  • United Nations Children’s Fund. (2012). The State of the World’s Children, 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2020 from: https://www.unicef.org/sowc2012/pdfs/SOWC-2012-Main-Report_EN_21Dec2011.pdf.

  • United Nations Children’s Fund. (2014). Hidden in plain sight: A statistical analysis of violence against children. Retrieved December 22, 2020 from: http://files.unicef.org/publications/files/Hidden_in_plain_sight_statistical_analysis_EN_3_Sept_2014.pdf.

  • Usta, J., & Farver, J. (2010). Child sexual abuse in Lebanon during war and peace. Child: Care, Health and Development, 36(3), 361–368.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization. (2020, August 6). Child maltreatment. Retrieved December 22, 2020, from https://www.who.int/news-room/factsheets/detail/child-maltreatment.

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express sincere thanks to the participants for their voluntary participation in the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, 110025, India

    Irum Khan, Imtiyaz Ahmad Dar, Samina Bano & Naved Iqbal

Authors
  1. Irum Khan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Imtiyaz Ahmad Dar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Samina Bano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Naved Iqbal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Imtiyaz Ahmad Dar.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no potential conflict of interest regarding the publication of this manuscript.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Khan, I., Dar, I.A., Bano, S. et al. Gender Differences in Childhood Maltreatment: A Comparative Study of Nightmare Sufferers and Non-sufferers. Journ Child Adol Trauma 14, 483–491 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-020-00338-6

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-020-00338-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation