Table 6.

Implications for Practice, Policy, and Research.

1. More research studying the associations between CEA/CEN and adult mental health outcomes is needed in elder populations, clinical populations, and contexts beyond the United States or other developed countries

2. Interventions to reduce CEA and CEN may help reduce the burden of adult mental health problems. Parenting training programs could, for example, use the findings from our review as the foundation to engage in intervention or coping strategies

3. For clinical populations, childhood experiences may merit exploration in treatment contexts

4. This systematic review provided evidence suggesting possible long-term impacts of childhood psychological maltreatment on adult mental health. Therefore, more attention to CEA and CEN prevention and mitigation is needed.

Note. CEA = childhood emotional abuse; CEN = childhood emotional neglect.