Language Development as a Mediator Between Child Maltreatment and Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior in Colombian Children and Adolescents

Background: The developmental consequences of child maltreatment (CM) remain poorly understood, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Objective: To examine whether language development mediates the relationship between CM and internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Participants and setting: 84 Colombian children and adolescents aged 5–14 (M = 9.67, SD = 2.18); 50% with a history of CM and 50% without, recruited from a child protection institution and the community, respectively. Methods: A cross-sectional, quasi-experimental design with two independent groups was used. Participants completed the Child Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (ENI-2) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Mediation was tested using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and logistic regression. Results: CM was significantly associated with internalizing behavior through language development (effect = 2.1243; 95% CI [0.3184, 4.5415]; effect size = 0.473), but not directly. Conclusions: Language development accounts for 47.3% of the relationship between CM and internalizing behavior. Early interventions in this domain may help prevent such issues in affected children.