(PS11-B44) Childhood Maltreatment Is Associated with Low Self-care in Adulthood

Clinical observation suggests that a history of maltreatment in childhood can have an impact on self-care practices. Indirect evidence emerges from the fact that many interventions for posttraumatic stress include modules to increase self-care behaviors. However, to our knowledge there has not yet been an empirical study that establishes a connection between these constructs. The present study examined the relationship between a history of childhood maltreatment and self-care behaviors in adulthood. One hundred twenty adults (72% women; M = 31.57 ± 4.57) were recruited from an online research platform, Prolific, to respond to assessments regarding their experiences of childhood maltreatment and current self-care behaviors. To be eligible for the study, our sample had to endorse at least three adverse childhood experiences. Thus, our sample had a high level of trauma exposure. We assessed for experiences of physical abuse (79% endorsed; M=2.3, SD=1.63), emotional abuse (89% endorsed; M=3.29, SD=1.78), sexual abuse (50% endorsed; M=1.41, SD=1.75), physical neglect (94% endorsed; M=5.14, SD=3.54), and emotional neglect (88% endorsed; M=2.9, SD=1.69). There were three categories of self-care assessed, including physical self-care (M=12.83, SD=3.65), emotional self-care (M=11.11, SD=4.03), and social self-care (M=6.1, SD=2.66). We found a small but significant, negative relationship between history of childhood maltreatment and frequency of self care (r(118)=-.210, p< .05)).  These findings provide a foundation to expand our understanding of the relationship between trauma exposure and low levels of self-care.