Children who were abused or neglected have lower IQ in teens
14 Jan 2011
University of Queensland research has found children who have been abused or neglected are likely to struggle academically during adolescence.
The research drew upon data from the Mater-University Study of Pregnancy (MUSP) - a longitudinal study of more than 7000 mothers and their children born at Brisbane's Mater Hospital from 1981-83.
Lead author and paediatrician Ryan Mills said the research involved confidentially linking allegations of maltreatment reported to the Department of Families, Youth and Community Care with the MUSP database.
''Both child abuse and child neglect are independently associated with impaired cognition and academic functioning in adolescence,'' Dr Mills said.
''These findings suggest that both abuse and neglect have independent and important adverse effects on a child's cognitive development.''
The MUSP database provided results of numeracy, literacy and abstract reasoning tests completed by 3796 adolescents at age 14.
