A Comparative Study of Interpersonal Relationships of Abused and Non-Abused Adolescents

Adolescents with childhood histories often have cognitive distortions and biases regarding social world. The present study aimed to investigate differences in interpersonal relationships of adolescents abused during childhood from the adolescents having no such histories. 1557 adolescents (aged 15 18 years) from various areas of Punjab (India) were screened for childhood abuse through Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Two groups (one abused and other non-abused) each comprising 100 adolescents were formed. To investigate the group differences all adolescents were administered Clinical Assessment of Interpersonal Relationships. Significant group differences emerged over this measure. The study stressed that the adolescents with childhood histories of abuse, in comparison to the non-abused group, tend to display more problems in interpersonal relations with parents, peers and teachers. Childhood abuse have made adolescents to enter their social world with faulty perceptions, faulty self-image and cognitive distortions which have entirely shaped the way they define themselves and their world, thereby affecting badly their interpersonal relationships with significant persons.