How Does Experience of Violence in Childhood Affect Work Outcomes? A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies

Abstract

Experiencing violence in childhood and adolescence is both common and long-lasting, and associated with poor short- and long-term health and economic outcomes. In the current study, we reviewed evidence from longitudinal studies on the association between violence in childhood and work outcomes to determine the direction and magnitude of the association, explore variations by violence type, identify evidence gaps, and describe the extent of research and findings on mediators. We systematically searched nine databases for longitudinal studies reporting on the association between violence in childhood and work outcomes, and conducted a narrative synthesis. We identified 46 reports of 27 cohorts, with all but one cohort from high-income countries. This review shows that there is strong evidence from high-income countries that violence in childhood is associated with a range of negative work outcomes. Evidence is strongest for official reports of child abuse and neglect, physical violence, bullying, and composite violence measures, but is more mixed for sexual violence. There is less evidence for emotional violence, witnessing violence, neglect, and adolescent intimate partner violence. Associations are similar for men and women. Nine reports conducted mediation analyses, mainly examining educational factors as mediators. Evidence suggests that educational factors may partially mediate the relationship between violence and negative work outcomes. Cognition, mental health, and noncognitive skills may also be mediators. There is a need for data from low- and middle-income countries, and further mediation analyses to help guide efforts to reduce negative consequences of violence.