Emotional Neglect and the Cumulative Profile of Childhood Trauma Among Adult Women Seeking Psychological Counselling: A Mixed-Methods Study in Kerala, India

Abstract

Childhood trauma is associated with enduring psychological and social consequences, but the experiences of adult women seeking psychological counselling in India remain insufficiently documented. This mixed- methods study examined the pattern and severity of childhood trauma among 32 women aged 18–45 years receiving psychological counselling in Kannur, Kerala. Quantitative data were obtained from secondary case records and assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), while qualitative analysis was designed to examine contextual descriptions of childhood experiences documented in counselling records. Quantitatively, the mean total CTQ score was 77.66 (SD = 10.37); 59% of participants were classified in the high-trauma range and none were classified in the low-trauma range. Emotional neglect was classified as severe for all participants (100%), followed by physical neglect (78%) and emotional abuse (75%). Physical abuse and sexual abuse showed greater variability, with severe levels reported by 44% and 22% of participants, respectively. Physical abuse was positively correlated with emotional abuse while emotional abuse was positively correlated with physical neglect. The qualitative component is intended to contextualize these quantitative patterns through participants' documented descriptions of emotional availability, caregiving, family relationships, and childhood maltreatment. The findings indicate that emotional neglect warrants greater attention in trauma-informed psychological assessment of Indian women. Because the study involved a small, single-site clinical sample and retrospective records, the findings should be regarded as context-specific rather than representative of Indian women generally.