The longitudinal influence of child maltreatment on child obesity in South Korea: The mediating effects of low self-esteem and depressive symptoms

Research finds that children who have experienced parental neglect and abuse in their childhood are more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors or experience obesity. The relationship between child maltreatment and obesity is supported in previous studies, but the mechanism of how child maltreatment leads to obesity has not yet been adequately examined. We aim to investigate the mediating roles of children's self-esteem and depressive symptoms in the longitudinal influences of child maltreatment on child obesity. We employ national longitudinal data from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Study collected annually in South Korea. The sample consists of 1796 elementary school students. Child maltreatment was measured by the child's report of parental neglect and physical abuse in wave 2 when the sample was the second grade. Child obesity was assessed using Body Mass Index (BMI) in wave 5. Self-esteem was measured in wave 3, and depressive symptoms in wave 4. The Structural Equation Modeling analysis shows that children's self-esteem significantly mediates the association between parental neglect and child obesity as well as that between physical abuse and child obesity. However, children's depressive symptoms do not demonstrate statistically significant mediating effects. This study discusses implications for research and practice to advance current knowledge and intervention efforts.