Potential Sequels of Physical Abuse in Childhood: Report from Russia

What is it about?

According to some estimates, the prevalence of family violence in Russia during last decades has been 45-70 times higher than in some West European countries. Vladimir Putin has signed into law an amendment that has partly decriminalized domestic violence. Physical abuse in childhood was described by his biographers. The hypothesis has been proposed that a part of autistic individuals are physically abused children, initially having attention deficit hyperactivity, histrionic and some other disorders, or completely healthy ones. In this connection, the heritability of autism and other derangements may have a non-genetic mechanism: children of deviant parents are exposed to maltreatment, hence acquiring deviant traits themselves. Furthermore, abused children may demonstrate compulsivity. In the course of post-trauma processing, maladaptive cognitions centered on shame may arise, sometimes intentionally reinforced by abusive environment. Some individuals mitigate shameful memories by compulsive acts. Repetitive behaviors, vocalizations, binge eating, alcohol consumption, and family violence can be compulsive. The latter is one of the mechanisms of trans-generational transmission of child abuse. Finally, adverse childhood experiences, including physical abuse, are associated with psychosis and paranoia. Political implications of the notion delineated above are discussed. Unfavorable consequences may occur when paranoid ideation persists in a dictator along with rationality and efficiency, so that delusions are brought into reality. Vladimir Putin formulated the aims of his military operation, one of them being protection of Russian-speakers from genocide. Apparently, this idea is delusional. Many people subscribe to delusions at large. Mental derangements in politicians are dangerous and must be diagnosed on the basis of speech, language corpora and behavior.

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