A child who is abused doesn't only suffer at the time of the abuse; the scars remain visible throughout their life. Once they reach adulthood, they will likely have a lower IQ and he will be more at risk of suffering from severe depression or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These long-term effects are known, but the link between abuse and these consequences remains unclear. Researchers from Inserm and Paris-Saclay University have shed some light on this obscurity: in a study published on January 20, 2026 in European PsychiatryThey show that child abuse causes alterations in several brain regions, lesions that remain visible throughout adolescence and that could be the causes of the consequences observed in adulthood.
By Nicolas Gutierrez C. THE Subscribers
A European study shows that child abuse leaves visible traces in the brain, and that these persist beyond adolescence.
Child abuse has long-term consequences on mental health.
Photo by VICTOR HABBICK VISIONS/SCIENCE P / VHB / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY VIA AFP
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