Childhood abuse, personality traits, and depressive symptoms in adulthood

Different adverse childhood experiences and adolescents' altruism: The mediating role of life history strategy

INTRODUCTION

The present study sought to investigate whether the relationship between childhood trauma, childhood socioeconomic (SES), and adolescents' altruism were mediated by their life history strategies and different adverse childhood experiences may function diversely on altruism, with two waves of data collected 6 months apart in a longitudinal design among Chinese adolescents.

METHODS

A total of 658 adolescents (Mage  = 13.51, SD = 0.73 at T1) were recruited and completed the online survey; their life history strategies were measured by the Mini-K, the Delayed of Gratification Questionnaire (DOG), and the Chinese version of the Adolescent Risk-Taking Questionnaire (ARQ-RB) together, and their altruism was collected again after six months.

RESULTS

After controlling for gender and their altruism at T1, the results showed that childhood trauma (i.e., emotional maltreatment, physical maltreatment), as well as low SES and fast life history strategy, were significantly negatively correlated with adolescents' altruism at T2. Importantly, life history strategy at T1 mediated the relationship between T1 emotional maltreatment, T1 low SES, and adolescents' altruism at T2. However, the effect of physical maltreatment on altruism was not mediated by life history strategy.

CONCLUSIONS

This study indicated that emotional maltreatment and low SES can affect adolescents' altruism by influencing the formation of adolescents' life history strategies. The findings revealed the different influences of adverse childhood experiences on adolescents' altruism, which supplied new empirical evidence for the life history theory and provided certain reference values for cultivating adolescents' altruism.

Childhood emotional abuse and adult mental health at the intersection of social relationship and education

BACKGROUND

Previous research has established that childhood emotional abuse has long-term, negative consequences for adult mental health. Yet, less is known about the ways that social relationship and education intersect to shape the link between childhood emotional abuse and mental health in adulthood.

AIM

The current study aims to examine whether perceived quality of social relationships moderates the association between childhood emotional abuse and adult mental health. Moreover, it assesses how the moderating effect of perceived quality of social relationship differs across levels of education.

METHOD

The current study analyzes data from the 2012 Korean General Social Survey, a nationally representative sampling of Korean adults. It uses OLS regression models.

RESULTS

Childhood emotional abuse is positively associated with depression and psychological distress in adulthood. However, perceived quality of social relationships mitigates the positive association of childhood emotional abuse with depression and psychological distress. Further, this buffering effect of perceived quality of social relationships operates only for individuals with less than or equal to a high school education, but not for individuals with college education or more.

CONCLUSION

The results lend support to the resource substitution thesis, suggesting that positive perceptions of social relationship act as a protective factor against childhood emotional abuse for individuals with lower levels of education.

Association between parental separation, childhood trauma, neuroticism, and depression: a case control study

Background

Parental separation has been suggested to be associated with depression development in offspring. The new family constellation subsequent to separation could be associated with elevated scores of childhood trauma, shaping more emotionally instable personalities. This could ultimately be a risk factor for mood disorders and particularly the development of depression in life.

Methods

To test this hypothesis, we investigated the associations between parental separation, childhood trauma (CTQ) and personality (NEO-FFI) in a sample of N = 119 patients diagnosed with depression and N = 119 age and sex matched healthy controls.

Results

While parental separation was associated with elevated scores of childhood trauma, there was no association between parental separation and Neuroticism. Furthermore, in a logistic regression analysis, Neuroticism and childhood trauma were found to be significant predictors for depression diagnosis (yes/no), but not parental separation (yes/no).

Conclusion

Parental separation might be associated with depression only indirectly via childhood trauma. Childhood trauma or Neuroticism seem more directly related to the development of depression. However, it is worthwhile to install prevention programs helping parents and children to cope with parental separation in order to minimize the impact of separation and associated stressors.

Mediator role of resilience in the relationship between neuroticism and psychological symptoms: COVID-19 Pandemic and supermarket employees

The current research aimed to examine the relationship between personality traits, resilience, and psychological symptom levels of front-line supermarket employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three-hundred and ten (310) supermarket employees participated in the research between March and May 2021. Participants filled out the questionnaire sets online The Demographic Information Form, Symptom Checklist, Five Factor Inventory and Resilience Scale for Adults were presented as questionnaire sets. Pearson Correlation Analyses were conducted to determine the relationships between variables, Multiple Regression and mediation analyses were conducted to discover the predictors of symptom level. It was found that personality traits, resilience and psychological symptom levels are related to each other. Conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness and resilience are significant predictors of psychological symptom level. In addition, resilience plays a mediating role in the relationship between neuroticism and psychological symptom levels. The findings were discussed within the framework of the relevant literature and COVID-19 research findings.

The Association of Child Abuse Experiences and Intolerance of Uncertainty in Young Adults

Objective: Drawing upon the identity disruption model, we investigated the association between child abuse experiences (emotional, physical, and sexual) and intolerance of uncertainty. We also addressed demographic differences in uncertainty intolerance in this study. Methods: Using online survey questionnaires, we collected data from a sample of 302 young adults in Turkey. The data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, one-way analysis of variance, and independent samples t-test. Results: The results showed that of the three types of child abuse analyzed, only emotional abuse was significantly and positively associated with intolerance of uncertainty. In contrast, age was negatively associated with intolerance of uncertainty. Regarding demographic differences, we found that the level of intolerance of uncertainty differed based on young adults' gender, psychiatric diagnosis, and education. Specifically, our findings indicated that intolerance of uncertainty is significantly higher in females compared to males. It is also significantly higher in young adults with a diagnosis for psychiatric disorders than those without. Moreover, intolerance of uncertainty is significantly higher in young adults who have a high school graduate degree than their undergraduate and graduate counterparts. We discussed how child abuse is associated with heightened intolerance of uncertainty in young adulthood as well as why demographic differences may exist in uncertainty intolerance. Conclusions: The present study expanded the existing research on the psychological consequences of childhood abuse experiences by linking child abuse to intolerance of uncertainty. Particularly, exposure to emotional abuse in early life can be a risk factor to cope with uncertainty in later life.

Rumination Mediates the Relationship Between Childhood Traumas with Cognitive Defusion, Acceptance, and Emotion Regulation: A Qualitative and Quantitative Study

This study examines the intermediary role of rumination in the relationship between childhood traumas in young adults and cognitive defusion, psychological acceptance, and suppression which is one of the emotion regulation strategies. In the quantitative stage of the study formed according to the explanatory sequential design, the intermediary role of rumination by using a structural equation model while in the qualitative stage, the intermediary role of rumination was analyzed through interviews using the interpretive phenomenology design. Personal Information Form, Childhood Trauma Scale, Short Form Ruminative Response Scale, Acceptance and Action Form II, Drexel Defusion Scale, and Emotion Regulation Scale were used in the research. At the end of the research, it was determined that childhood traumas have a negative effect on cognitive defusion and acceptance, while they have a positive effect on suppression. It was seen that rumination has a partial intermediary role in the relationship of childhood traumas with cognitive defusion, acceptance, and suppression. As a result of the qualitative analysis, twelve themes such as "Constantly thinking about the past, not being able to move away from childhood traumas, not being able to forgive their parents, inability to get rid of negative thoughts, living in the past, moving away from a value-driven life, false expression of emotion, suppression of emotions, emotions reflected in behavior, coping with negative emotions and desired emotion regulation" emerged concerning participants' experiences of cognitive defusion, acceptance, and suppression. Although one of the purposes of using AAQ-II in the study was to support discussions about the scale via qualitative results, this was a limitation for the study. Therefore, although a high rate was obtained, it is not possible to infer that childhood traumas and rumination can explain acceptance behaviors. For this, much more quantitative and qualitative studies are needed. Other qualitative research findings are thought to support quantitative research findings.

Mediating role of personality traits in the association between multi-dimensional adverse childhood experiences and depressive symptoms among older adults: A 9-year prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

To explore the mediating role of personality traits in the correlation between multi-dimensional adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and depressive symptoms in older adults.

METHODS

This cohort study used data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, and included 4050 older adults without depressive symptoms in 2010-2011. Multi-dimensional ACEs were evaluated in 2006-2007. Personality traits were assessed using the Midlife Development Inventory in 2010-2011. Depressive symptoms were measured using the 8-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale during 2012-2019. Cox proportional hazard model was used to explore the associations between ACEs and depressive symptoms. The package named "mediation" in R was used to test mediating role of personality traits.

RESULTS

ACEs in each dimension significantly increased the risk of depressive symptoms (all P-values < 0.05). The association of maltreatment (18.18 %) and household dysfunction (19.69 %) with depressive symptoms was significantly mediated by neuroticism. The correlation between poor parent-child bonding and depressive symptoms was significantly mediated by neuroticism (19.43 %), conscientiousness (4.84 %), and extroversion (8.02 %).

LIMITATIONS

ACEs were retrospectively assessed based on participants' memories, which may induce recall bias.

CONCLUSIONS

Maltreatment and household dysfunction may induce depressive symptoms by increasing neuroticism. Poor parent-child bonding may induce depressive symptoms by increasing neuroticism and reducing conscientiousness and extraversion. In addition to reducing the occurrence of ACEs, reducing neuroticism of individuals with maltreatment and household dysfunction in childhood, and reducing neuroticism, and increasing conscientiousness and extraversion of individuals with poor parent-child bonding in childhood might help to decrease their risk of depressive symptoms.

The body keeps the score: The neurobiological profile of traumatized adolescents

Trauma-related disorders are debilitating psychiatric conditions that affect people who have directly or indirectly witnessed adversities. Experiencing multiple types of traumas appears to be common during childhood, and even more so during adolescence. Dramatic brain/body transformations occurring during adolescence may provide a highly responsive substrate to external stimuli and lead to trauma-related vulnerability conditions, such as internalizing (anxiety, depression, anhedonia, withdrawal) and externalizing (aggression, delinquency, conduct disorders) problems. Analyzing relations among neuronal, endocrine, immune, and biochemical signatures of trauma and internalizing and externalizing behaviors, including the role of personality traits in shaping these conducts, this review highlights that the marked effects of traumatic experience on the brain/body involve changes at nearly every level of analysis, from brain structure, function and connectivity to endocrine and immune systems, from gene expression (including in the gut) to the development of personality.

Suicidal ideation in college students having major depressive disorder: Role of childhood trauma, personality and dysfunctional attitudes

BACKGROUND

Suicide in college students is a major public health concern. Suicidal ideation (SI) is associated with childhood trauma, personality, dysfunctional attitudes and depressive symptoms, but how they interact to predict SI remains unclear.

METHODS

Using cross-sectional design and convenience sampling method, a survey was conducted among 565 college students having major depressive disorder (MDD). The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale and Hamilton Depression Scale assessed participants' psychosocial factors. Chi-square test, t-test, Pearson correlation, and Structural Equation Model were used in data analysis.

RESULTS

Overall, 66.02% of participants with MDD had SI. Those with SI showed significant differences in physical abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect, psychoticism, neuroticism, extroversion, dysfunctional attitudes and depressive symptoms compared with those without SI. Childhood trauma, psychoticism, neuroticism, extroversion and dysfunctional attitudes affected SI through chain mediation. In addition, depressive symptoms, psychoticism, neuroticism and extroversion directly affected SI.

LIMITATIONS

The convenience sampling method may limit the generalizability of the findings. Results may be biased due to the self-report nature of the data collection procedure, the number of research subjects and differences in suicide risk assessment. The cross-sectional study cannot be used to infer causality.

CONCLUSIONS

The factors of childhood trauma, personality and dysfunctional attitudes affect SI through chain mediation. In addition, depressive symptoms and personality independently predict the occurrence of SI.

Inner child of the past: long-term protective role of childhood relationships with mothers and fathers and maternal support for mental health in middle and late adulthood

PURPOSE

National longitudinal studies that investigate the long-term association between early family life and mental health in middle and older adulthood are limited. This study aims to fill the gap by examining the protective effect of positive childhood relationships with mothers and fathers and parental support against depression among women and men in middle and late adulthood.

METHODS

The sample of 12,606 adults (7319 females; 5287 males) from the US Health and Retirement Study was nationally representative with the inclusion of 7 depression measures from 2008 to 2018. Two depression measures, CESD-8 scale and binary indicators of severe depressive symptoms, were used. Generalized estimation equations (GEE)-negative binomial models were estimated for CESD-8 and GEE-logit models were estimated for the binary indicator of severe depression. This study aimed to assess how positive parent-child relationships and maternal support protect the mental health of women and men in adulthood. Other risk and psychosocial factors, such as childhood depression, traumatic life events, stressful life events, marital status, and social support in adulthood were adjusted for.

RESULTS

Positive childhood relationships with mothers, fathers, or both parents and increased maternal support were associated with a lower risk of depression among both females and males from middle to old age, even if they experienced trauma, stressful life events, divorce, singlehood, widowhood, or little social support. Females benefited more psychologically than males from positive mother-daughter relationships and high-quality relationships with both parents. However, compared to mother-child relationships, positive father-child relationships protected men better psychosocially than females.

CONCLUSION

Findings underscore the importance of fathers' roles in promoting their children's, especially sons', emotional well-being. Interventions in early mother-child and father-child relationships and parental support are crucial for healthy aging in mental development.

The Role of Qi-Stagnation Constitution and Emotion Regulation in the Association Between Childhood Maltreatment and Depression in Chinese College Students

Background

Childhood maltreatment is known as a significant risk factor for later depression. However, there remains a lack of understanding about the mechanisms through which childhood maltreatment confers risk for depression. This study explores how Qi-stagnation constitution (QSC) and emotion regulation affect the link between childhood maltreatment and depressive symptoms in Chinese college students.

Methods

We recruited 2,108 college students aged 18-25 years between November 2020 and December 2021. Participants were required to complete four self-report questionnaires, including the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF), Qi-Stagnation Constitution (QSC) subscale of the simplified Chinese Medicine Constitution Questionnaire, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Moderated mediation analyses were conducted.

Results

There was a positive correlation between childhood maltreatment and QSC, while the QSC partially mediated the effect of childhood maltreatment on depressive scores in college students. In addition, emotion dysregulation moderated the association between QSC and depressive scores.

Conclusion

These results enhance understanding of key factors influencing the link between childhood maltreatment and depressive symptoms among college students by combining the theory of TCM constitution with psychological processes. The development of strategies to prevent biased Qi-stagnation constitution and emotion dysregulation may help to improve college students' mental health and strengthen the resilience of individuals to depression.

The effects of childhood trauma on personality in unaffected first-degree relatives of patients with major depressive disorder

ABSTRAC

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to preliminarily and exploratorily examine the associations between childhood trauma (CT), its subtypes, and personality traits among unaffected first-degree relatives (FDR, children, or siblings) of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

METHODS

The study sample included three subgroups: MDD patients (N = 85), Patients' FDRs (N = 35), and healthy control individuals (HC, N = 89). The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) was used to assess childhood trauma and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire was used to assess personality traits.

RESULTS

Significant differences were found in a few personality traits (p < 0.05 for extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism) among MDD patients, FDR, and HC, and there were no significant differences between HC and FDR. In the FDR group, compared with those without CT, participants with CT scored significantly higher for neuroticism (N) (F = 3.246, p = 0.046). CT was significantly associated with N, psychoticism (P) and Lie (L), and the strongest association was between CT total score and N. Significantly positive correlations were found between N and sexual abuse (SA) (r = 0.344, p = 0.043), emotional neglect (EN) (r = 0.394, p = 0.019), physical neglect (PN) (r = 0.393, p = 0.019), and CTQ total score (r = 0.452, p = 0.006); between P and CTQ total score (r = 0.336, p = 0.049); and significant negative correlations were found between L and EN (r = -0.446, p = 0.007), CTQ total score (r = -0.375, p = 0.027).

CONCLUSION

In unaffected FDRs, there were significant associations between childhood trauma and a few personality traits, including neuroticism, psychoticism, and lie, and emotional neglect was significantly associated with neuroticism.

Interrelationship of Posttraumatic Stress, Hassles, Uplifts, and Coping in Women With a History of Severe Sexual Abuse: A Cross-Sectional Study

Experiencing trauma, such as sexual abuse, increases the risk of a negative health outcome. The aim of the present study was to compare two groups of female survivors of sexual abuse, one group with a lower indication of posttraumatic stress disorder (L-PTSD) and one with a higher indication of posttraumatic stress disorder (H-PTSD). We hypothesized that, with a history of sexual abuse, higher levels of PTSD symptoms would be associated with more daily hassles, fewer daily uplifts, and more maladaptive coping strategies, and that there would be more reporting of severe types of sexual victimization, less resourceful socioeconomic conditions and a lower level of emotional stability. A questionnaire, including measures of socioeconomic conditions, trauma experience, emotional stability (the Single-Item Measures of Personality), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL), daily hassles and uplifts (the Stress Profile), and coping strategies (the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced [COPE] questionnaire), was completed by 57 female users at nine support centers for survivors of incest and sexual abuse in Norway. The results show that the H-PTSD group reported significantly more daily hassles, fewer daily uplifts, and more use of maladaptive coping strategies. The L-PTSD group reported more emotional stability, fewer daily hassles, and more uplifts, and used more adaptive coping strategies. However, few differences were found between the H-PTSD and the L-PTSD groups with regard to severity of sexual abuse and socioeconomic conditions. The results on the hassle, uplift, and coping scales are potentially interesting from an interventional point of view. Major life events such as sexual abuse may be out of control for the afflicted victim. Appraisal of and coping with everyday events, however, can be affected and offer interesting possibilities for interventions directed at the survivor, her significant others, and professional helpers.

Past Child Abuse and Neglect in Adults From Northern Mexico: Development of a Scale and Prevalence

Child abuse has been present in Mexico but there have been few studies that analyze its effects in adults. There are no Mexican validated scales that measure the relationship between abuse experienced in childhood and its effects into adulthood. The purpose of this study is to develop a past child abuse and neglect scale to measure these phenomena in adults and also to analyze the relationship the effects have with other psychological variables (e.g., anxiety, depression, self-esteem, partner-violence, personality, and fatalism). There were 763 participants from Juarez City, located on the northern border of Mexico. All participants were above the age of 18 years. The scale was developed, and its psychometric properties were analyzed. A first analysis consisted of analyzing the factor structure of the scale items with an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and then a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to corroborate the factor structure. The resulting factors were guilt, relationship with parents, strong physical abuse, sexual abuse, mild physical and verbal abuse, and basic care. The internal reliabilities for all factors in both analyses were between Cronbach's alpha values of .77 and .92. Correlations of these factors with psychological variables were analyzed, and several statistically significant correlations were found. The scale has a good factor structure that correctly reflects the indicators of child abuse and neglect with good internal reliability values. The analysis showed that the prevalence rates of child abuse and neglect in Juarez were higher than those reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) in other locations worldwide. Actions by governments, universities, and civil associations should take place to reduce these rates, especially because of their long-term physical, emotional, and psychological consequences.

Childhood trauma and current depression among Chinese university students: a moderated mediation model of cognitive emotion regulation strategies and neuroticism

BACKGROUND

Childhood trauma (CT) is considered as a highly risk factor for depression. Although the pathway of CT to depression, especially the mediating or moderating effects of cognitive emotion regulation strategies (CERS) or neuroticism, have investigated by several studies, the results were inconsistent and there is a paucity of full models among these interactive factors. This study aims to examine the relationships among CT, adaptive / maladaptive CERS, neuroticism, and current depression symptoms in university students.

METHODS

We recruited 3009 freshman of 2019, aged averagely 18.00 (SD = 0.772) years, from universities in Hunan province in 2019. A moderated mediation model was built to examine the relationships among CT, CERS, neuroticism, and current depression using the SPSS PROCESS 3.5 macro. We conducted bootstrapping of regression estimates with 5000 samples and 95% confidence interval.

RESULTS

Results revealed that the significant mediating effects of adaptive CERS (β = 0.012; 95% CI: 0.006 to 0.018) and maladaptive CERS (β = 0.028; 95% CI: 0.016 to 0.040) between CT and depression were observed, accounting for 5.69% and 13.52% of the total effect respectively. Then, moderated mediation analyses results showed that neuroticism simultaneously moderated the direct effect of CT on current depression (β = 0.035; 95% CI: 0.001 to 0.009), and the indirect effects of CT on current depression through adaptive CERS (adaptive CERS - current depression: β = - 0.034; 95% CI: - 0.007 to - 0.001) and maladaptive CERS (maladaptive CERS - current depression: β = 0.157; 95% CI: 0.017 to 0.025). However, the moderating effects of neuroticism in the indirect paths from CT to adaptive CERS (β = 0.037; 95% CI: 0.000 to 0.014) and maladaptive CERS (β = - 0.001; 95% CI: - 0.006 to 0.005) were not significant.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides powerful evidences through a large university students sample for the mediating role of adaptive / maladaptive CERS and the moderating role of neuroticism between CT and current depression. This manifests that cognitive emotion regulation may be a vital factor for people who suffered from CT and current depression. Furthermore, the influence of neuroticism in this process cannot be ignored.

Mediating pathways of neuroticism and social anxiety in the relationship between childhood trauma and the fear of missing out among Chinese college students

Recent research has identified various risk factors for fear of missing out. However, studies on the potential influence of childhood trauma on the fear of missing out remain scarce, and little is known regarding the mediating mechanisms underlying this relationship. In this study, we examine the predictive role of childhood trauma on the fear of missing out among college students and investigate whether neuroticism and social anxiety mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and the fear of missing out. A sample of 1,266 Chinese college students completed questionnaires regarding childhood trauma, neuroticism, social anxiety, and the fear of missing out. The results indicated that (a) childhood trauma is positively associated with the fear of missing out, (b) both neuroticism and social anxiety mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and the fear of missing out, and (c) neuroticism and social anxiety sequentially mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and the fear of missing out. These findings have crucial implications for the prevention and intervention of the fear of missing out among college students.

Personality Pathology among Adults with History of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Study of the Relevance of DSM-5 Proposed Traits and Psychobiological Features of Temperament and Character

BACKGROUND

The main aim of this study was to determine whether childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is reflected in the pathological traits of the alternative model of personality disorders (AMPD) in section-III of DSM-5 and Cloninger's temperament and character profiles.

METHODS

The Persian versions of Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5), Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-125), and Structured Clinical Inventory for DSM-IV-TR-Axis II-Screening Questionnaire (SCID-II-SQ) were administered to 43 Iranian college students who reported a history of CSA and 390 participants who did not. Bivariate Pearson correlations and general linear model repeated measures (GLMRM) were used to compare results.

RESULTS

Bivariate correlations indicated that both the PID-5 and TCI-125 were significantly associated with their relevant personality disorders. Profile analysis showed that the pathological trait domains of the PID-5, except for negative affectivity, were significantly greater in those with an experience of CSA. Of the seven dimensions of TCI-125, novelty seeking and persistence were higher in those with an experience of CSA, but reward dependence, self-directedness, and cooperativeness were lower.

CONCLUSIONS

These results confirmed a correlation between CSA and personality dysfunction. The pattern of dysfunction was complex and somewhat different from the two facet measures used.

Association between childhood trauma and depression: A moderated mediation analysis among normative Chinese college students

BACKGROUND

Childhood trauma is a critical risk factor for depression. Many studies have investigated the pathway between childhood trauma and depression, especially the mediating or moderating effects of neuroticism or resilience, but the results were inconsistent and there was no full model of these interactive factors. In addition, high prevalence of depression existed in normative college students, and few studies focused on their pathway between childhood trauma and depressive scores. Therefore, this study intended to examine the relationships among childhood trauma, resilience, neuroticism and depressive scores in normative college students.

METHODS

Normative college students (n = 404) aged 18-22 years were recruited as participants from universities in Guangzhou in 2019. The participants were asked to complete four self-report questionnaires, including the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF), Conner-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II).

RESULTS

Results revealed that the effect of childhood trauma on depressive scores in normative college students was mediated by neuroticism. In addition, resilience moderated the association between childhood trauma and neuroticism.

CONCLUSIONS

This study helps to elucidate the mechanism that underlined the pathway between childhood trauma and depressive scores in normative college students. These findings may give indications of developing measures to strengthen resilience and lower neuroticism in normative college students with childhood traumatic experiences.

Underlying pathway of factors leading to mental health in Iranian young adolescents: A structural equation modeling

Background:

The present study aimed to provide a field-tested model of constituting factors affecting mental health in young Iranian adolescents.

Materials and Methods:

In this cross-sectional study, a conceptual model was proposed based on an extensive literature review. A total of 254 young adolescents aged 11–14 years were recruited from north, south, east, and west regions of Tehran megacity by a random cluster sampling procedure, of whom 244 adolescents participated. The adolescents and their mothers altogether completed eight questionnaires pertaining to the proposed conceptual model: (1) Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), (2) Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Questionnaire, (3) Child Exposure to Domestic Violence Scale, (4) Drug Abuse Screening Test-10, (5) Baumrind Parenting Style Questionnaire, (6) Conflict Behavior Questionnaire, (7) General Health Questionnaire-28, and (8) Garmaroodi Socioeconomic Status Questionnaire. The statistical analysis was performed using structural equation modeling.

Results:

This study demonstrated that parent mental health (b = −0.111), experience of father's care (b = −1.112), conflict with mother (b = 0.309), conflict with father (b = 0.135), and exposure to domestic violence (b = 0.217), as well as age (b = 0.93) and gender (b = 0.139), had direct effect on adolescent mental health (all P < 0.05). Further, the results showed that exposure to domestic violence and conflict with mother had the greatest direct impact on adolescent mental health among all other family-related factors, followed by conflict with father and parent mental health. Conflict with mother and conflict with father also affected adolescent mental health indirectly through experience of domestic violence and had a mediating effect for the influence of several other factors on adolescent mental health, thus playing an important role in the pathway leading to young adolescent mental health status in the Iranian population.

Conclusion:

Overall, the final model proved to be fit and the factors constituting the final model were able to predict 88% of the variations in the mental health of Iranian adolescents. This model can guide clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health workers in a more realistic and effective prevention or treatment planning for their young clients. Moreover, it may help in arriving at a comprehensive preventive policymaking for mental health policymakers.

The Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Questionnaire (CECA)

Background

The present study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Questionnaire (CECA.Q), a tool based on a retrospective interview with the child.

Materials and Methods

To this aim, 251 adolescents from four regions of Tehran megacity completed the questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaire was examined, along with the face and content validity. In addition, the construct validity was evaluated by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

Results

EFA and CFA supported a 4-factor solution including mother's role scale items, father's role scale items, maternal behavior scale items, and paternal behavior scale items. The total variance extracted in EFA ranged from 33.9 to 60.7. The internal consistency for mother's role, father's role, maternal behavior, and paternal behavior was 0.61, 0.65, 0.86, and 0.9 respectively. Thus, the questionnaire had a suitable fit, as well as reasonable reliability and validity.

Conclusion

The Persian version of the CECA.Q had adequate reliability and validity as a self-report measurement for childhood experience of care and abuse.

Personality traits and depressive symptoms: The moderating and mediating effects of resilience in Chinese adolescents

BACKGROUND

Various studies showed that personality traits and resilience might have impacts on depressive symptoms, separately. However, the relationships among personality traits, resilience and depressive symptoms are still undefined. Thus, this study tried to explore the potential effect of resilience on the associations between personality traits and depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents.

METHODS

Adolescents (n = 6019) aged 10-17 years were recruited from nine schools in Wuhan, China. Depressive symptoms, personality traits, and resilience were evaluated by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D), the NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), respectively.

RESULTS

Neuroticism was positively associated with depressive symptoms, whereas extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Resilience separately moderated the associations of neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness with depressive symptoms, and partly mediated the associations of all five personality traits with depressive symptoms.

LIMITATIONS

This study is a cross sectional study and cannot ascertain the causal relationships between the variables. Also self-reported questionnaire instruments were used in the data collection.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggested that resilience might play moderating and mediating roles in the associations of personality traits with depressive symptoms, and prompted that it was critical to improve resilience and develop adaptive personality traits in the prevention and intervention of depression in adolescents.

Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF): Dimensionality, validity, reliability and gender invariance among Nigerian adolescents

BACKGROUND

Childhood abuse and neglect have been associated with long term psychological consequences. There is no valid, reliable and gender invariant scale available for the evaluation of childhood abuse and neglect among Nigerian adolescents.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) in terms of its factor structure, validity, reliability, and gender measurement invariance among Nigerian adolescents.

METHOD

Senior high school adolescents (n = 1337, aged 13-18 years) completed the CTQ-SF in addition to the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the 12-items General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and the Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation Inventory (PANSI). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the original (Bernstein et al., 2003) and alternative (Gerdner & Allgulander, 2009) CTQ-SF models. The fit indices of these two models tested applying CFA were compared. Concurrent validity of the CTQ-SF was examined with correlational analyses with other study measures. The internal consistencies of the CTQ-SF and its subscales were examined with the MacDonald's omega (ω_h) coefficients. Gender measurement invariance was evaluated with multiple-group CFA (MGCFA).

RESULTS

The alternative CTQ-SF model compared to the original model exhibited a better fit (CFI = 0.928, RMSEA = 0.046 [90 %CI: 0.043-0.050], SRMR = 0.044). The internal consistency and concurrent validity of this model were satisfactory. MGCFA provided evidence that supported the configural, metric and scalar gender measurement invariance.

CONCLUSION

The alternative CTQ-SF exhibited satisfactory validity, reliability, and gender measurement invariance and, therefore, could be used for the evaluation and gender comparison of abuse and neglect among Nigerian adolescents.

The relationship between childhood adversity and adult personality revealed by network analysis

BACKGROUND

Childhood adversity is known to influence personality development. Studies suggest that distinct types of childhood adversities have differential effects on personality dimensions. However, different types of adversity often co-occur, and personality dimensions are strongly interconnected.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to use a network approach to analyze the interrelationships between different types of childhood adversity and diverse personality dimensions integratively.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

We used previously collected data on 142 alcohol dependent patients and 102 healthy controls.

METHODS

The participants completed the Interview for Traumatic Events in Childhood, the Parental Acceptance and Rejection Questionnaire and the Temperament and Character Inventory. Outcomes on the subscales of these instruments were included in the network analysis.

RESULTS

The resulting network showed strong connections between different types of childhood adversity, and between the different temperaments and characters of personality. Childhood adversity, mainly physical abuse and maternal rejection, was connected to most personality dimensions, except for reward dependence. Physical abuse showed the highest centrality measures, indicating a central, important role in the network.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings confirm that different types of childhood adverse experiences often co-occur, and suggest that specifically physical and emotional abuse, and maternal rejection might play a prominent role in shaping personality.

Genes, Childhood Trauma, and Late Life Depressive Symptoms

Objectives: Findings on gene-environment correlations suggest childhood “environments” may reflect genetic liabilities. The independent psychosocial influence of childhood trauma is unclear. This study examined such effects on adulthood depressive symptoms. Methods: Data were from the Health and Retirement Study. Trauma items included childhood physical abuse and parental substance abuse. Multinomial logit models examined genetic effects on stable and unstable reports. Linear growth models tested associations of stable trauma responses, genes, and their interaction with current depressive symptoms. Results: Genetic risk predicted both stable and unstable trauma reports. With genes controlled, stable responses were associated with life course variations but not late life change in depression. The exception was women’s physical abuse, which moderated genetic effects but had no independent influence. Discussion: Apparent gene-trauma correlations may be driven by flawed retrospective reports. Research is needed to distinguish true from artifactual genetic effects on other environmental factors and establish psychosocial implications.

Childhood maltreatment, vulnerability characteristics and adult incident common mental disorders: 3-year longitudinal data among >10,000 adults in the general population

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is a strong predictor of incident (first-onset and recurrent) mental disorders in adulthood. However, less is known about underlying mechanisms and moderators of these associations. This study examines to what extent vulnerability characteristics (low social support, negative life events, parental psychopathology, neuroticism, history and comorbidity of mental and physical health) contribute to the impact of CM on adult psychopathology. Data from two general population cohorts - the first and second Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Studies - were combined into one dataset (N = 10,065). CM (emotional, psychological, physical or sexual abuse before the age of 16) and vulnerability characteristics were assessed with a structured face-to-face interview. First-onset and recurrent mental (mood, anxiety, substance use) disorders were assessed using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. CM doubled the risk of developing a first-onset or recurrent mental disorder at three-year follow-up (OR = 2.08). CM was not only directly connected to incident mental disorders, but also indirectly through vulnerability characteristics. Several vulnerabilities, in particular low social support, parental psychopathology, prior mental disorders and neuroticism, moderated the relationship between CM and adult mental disorders, indicating that these vulnerability factors had a greater effect on incident mental disorders among people with childhood abuse. As not all adults with a history of CM develop mental disorders, these mediating and moderating risk factors might help identify adults with a history of maltreatment who could benefit from preventive interventions.

Conscientiousness explains the link between childhood neglect and cigarette smoking in adults from a low-income, urban area-the differential effects of sex

Cigarette smoking represents the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the US and understanding its risk factors remains a critical public health endeavor. Low-income individuals and individuals with a history of childhood maltreatment are at heightened risk for cigarette smoking, yet the underlying factors between this association are understudied. Conscientiousness is one construct with potential explanatory relevance to both smoking and childhood neglect. The current investigation examined the association between childhood physical and emotional neglect with smoking (i.e., self-reported cigarette smoking and breath carbon monoxide levels) via conscientiousness. The sample was comprised of 115 adults (M_age = 50.46, SD_age = 5.86; 76.4% Black) recruited from a community center serving low-income and homeless individuals. Mediation analyses showed the indirect effect of childhood emotional neglect on cigarette smoking through conscientiousness; for physical neglect, this relationship was only present among males. The current study provides preliminary evidence that conscientiousness may be a particularly important vulnerability factor when examining the association between childhood neglect and smoking.

Personality traits as possible mediators in the relationship between childhood trauma and depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents

Childhood trauma has been found to be a critical risk factor for depression in adolescents. Personality traits have been linked with mental health. However, the relationship between childhood trauma, personality traits, and depressive symptoms in adolescents is largely unclear. This study tried to examine the mediating effect of personality traits between childhood trauma and depressive symptoms among adolescents. Meanwhile, the possible bidirectional association between personality traits and depression was considered in the study. A group of community-based adolescents aged 10-17 years (N = 5793) were recruited from nine schools in Wuhan city, China. The participants completed self-report questionnaires, including the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and the NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Results showed that childhood trauma experiences were positively related with depressive symptoms and neuroticism, and negatively related with extraversion and conscientiousness; depressive symptoms were related with high neuroticism, low extraversion, and conscientiousness. Neuroticism and extraversion partially mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and depressive symptoms. And 'childhood trauma-personality traits-depression' models showed better property than the alternative models of 'childhood trauma-depression-personality traits'. The current study provides preliminary evidence for mediation roles of neuroticism and extraversion in the effect of childhood trauma to depressive symptoms in adolescents. These findings may contribute to better prevention and interventions for depressive symptoms among adolescents with childhood trauma via personality traits improvement.

Childhood maltreatment: A predictor of mental health problems among adolescents and young adults

Child maltreatment is a risk factor for detrimental effects on mental health that may extend to adulthood. This study aimed to examine the association between exposure to childhood maltreatment, socio-demographic factors, and students' mental health status and self-esteem. A cross-sectional study enrolled a representative sample of 1270 students from Kuwait University. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire included students' socio-demographic characteristics, history of exposure to childhood physical and/or emotional maltreatment, DASS-21 to assess mental health status, and Rosenberg self-esteem scale was used. Chi-square test and binary logistic regression models were applied. The study found that among participants, 49.6%(95% CI: 64.8%-52.4%), 63.0%(95% CI: 60.3%-65.7%), and 43.8%(95% CI: 41.1%-46.6%) reported having depression, anxiety, and stress respectively. Moreover, 22.5%(95% CI: 20.1%-24.8%) and 18.6%(95% CI:16.5%-20.9%) reported childhood physical and emotional maltreatment, respectively; while 12.7% reported both. Multivariate analysis revealed that experiencing childhood physical and emotional maltreatment were independent contributors to reporting depression and anxiety; while exposure to only emotional maltreatment contributed to reporting stress. Gender, GPA, childhood enrollment in private/public schools, number of close friends, were other contributors to mental health problems. Participants' median score of self-esteem was 17/30, and only childhood emotional maltreatment was a significant predictor to low self-esteem after adjustment for other confounders. Mental health problems, and experiencing childhood physical and emotional maltreatment were prevalent relatively high among university students. Childhood corporal and emotional maltreatment were independent predictors to adolescents and young adults' mental health problems. Experiencing childhood emotional maltreatment predicted low self-esteem. Further research to assess culture factors associated with childhood maltreatment is recommended.