Childhood Adversity and Psychosocial Health Outcomes in Later Life Among Immigrants in Canada

Childhood maltreatment affects depression and anxiety: The mediating role of benign envy and malicious envy

The influence of childhood maltreatment on depression and anxiety has been reported in many studies, and the mechanism of this influence has been described from different perspectives. However, few research has explored the influence of child maltreatment on depression and anxiety from the perspective of benign/malicious envy. Given that, based on social comparison theory, this study explored the mediating effect of benign envy/malicious envy on child maltreatment, depression, and anxiety. The sample of this study consisted of 2,691 Chinese adolescents. The results showed that benign and malicious envy both played a significant role in mediating the relation between childhood maltreatment and depression and anxiety. Interestingly, we found that there were different mechanisms of benign and malicious envy in this relationship, namely, malicious envy promoted the effects of childhood maltreatment on depression and anxiety, whereas benign envy inhibited the effects of childhood maltreatment on depression and anxiety. These findings not only reveal the different mechanisms between the two socially comparable emotions of benign/malicious envy in the early adverse environment and depression and anxiety, but also provide a specific reference for individuals to regulate the depression and anxiety caused by childhood maltreatment and envy.

Different Types of Childhood Experience with Mothers and Caregiving Outcomes in Adulthood

OBJECTIVE AND BACKGROUND

The current study examines the types of childhood experiences with mothers (i.e., maternal abuse, affection, discipline) among caregivers of aging mothers, and investigates whether membership in specific latent classes, particularly maternal maltreatment, is associated with psychological functioning among caregivers.

METHOD

Using data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS), we used the Bolck, Croon, and Hagenaars (BCH) approach of latent class analysis (LCA) to predict distal outcomes.

RESULTS

We identified four latent classes (prevalence rate noted): "Affectionate and authoritative" (65%), "affectionate and permissive" (11%), "emotionally abusive and neglectful" (8%), and "emotionally/physically abusive and authoritative" (16%). Caregivers in the "emotionally/physically abusive and authoritative" class endorsed high probabilities of both maternal affection and abuse and were most negatively affected across the three psychological functioning outcomes (i.e., self-rated mental health, psychological distress, and psychological well-being).

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

In support of the life course perspective, our findings emphasized the importance of examining adult children caregivers' early life experiences with aging mothers and how those experiences can impact the psychological effects of caregiving. This study suggests specific practice implications; for example, assessment tools for evaluating caregiver burden should consider life course factors such as caregivers' childhood experiences with aging parents.