The relationship between child maltreatment and social anxiety: A meta-analysis

Physical and emotional abuse with internet addiction and anxiety as a mediator and physical activity as a moderator

This study aimed to explore the relationship between physical and emotional abuse (physical-emotional abuse) and Internet addiction in university students, as well as the mediating role of anxiety and the moderating role of physical activity. The data of physical-emotional abuse, anxiety and Internet addiction, and physical activity were measured by subjective questionnaire with convenience sampling in March 2024. A total of 1591 participants (806 males and 692 females) from Shanxi, Henan, Hunan and Hubei provinces in China were investigated. Subsequently, the relationships among the variables were explored using pearson correlation analysis. Finally, mediation and moderation models were assessed using the SPSS PROCESS macro plugin. After controlling for participants' gender, grade level, and place of residence, only-child status, the study findings revealed that physical-emotional abuse significantly and positively predicted internet addiction and anxiety among university students (β = 0.157, β = 0.271, p < 0.001). However, upon the inclusion of anxiety as a variable, the predictive effect of physical-emotional abuse on internet addiction among university students became non-significant (β = 0.035, p > 0.05). Anxiety was found to have a significant complete mediating effect between physical-emotional abuse and internet addiction among university students. Additionally, physical activity significantly and negatively predicted anxiety (β = -0.062, p < 0.05), and the interaction term between physical-emotional abuse and physical activity also significantly and negatively predicted anxiety (β = - 0.053, p < 0.05). Physical activity moderated the first half of the mediation pathway from "physical-emotional abuse to anxiety to internet addiction." Anxiety may be the internal mechanism of physical-emotional abuse affecting university students' Internet addiction, and physical activity plays a moderator role in the relationship between physical-emotional abuse and university students' Internet addiction. The study will provide new perspectives and strategies for the public health field to address physical-emotional abuse and Internet addiction among university students. It is also critical that future studies validate these findings on a large, multi-country basis.

Distinct characteristics of social anxiety among youths with childhood sexual abuse: A latent profile analysis

BACKGROUND

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is one type of childhood trauma that has long-term effects on physical and mental health, predisposing to social anxiety.

OBJECTIVE

This study attempted to investigate the characteristics of different subgroups of social anxiety among youths with CSA experiences.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

83,219 participants were recruited in a cross-sectional study from 63 colleges and universities in Jilin Province, China.

METHODS

The main variables were measured by a series of self-report questionnaires. Latent profile analysis was used to classify different subgroups of social anxiety, and multiple logistic regression was employed to investigate factors influencing transitions between different subgroups.

RESULTS

3022 (3.63 %) youths who suffered from CSA (46.8 % were male, Mage = 19.57, SD = 1.76) could be divided into four subgroups of social anxiety: low-risk social anxiety (16.4 %), medium-risk social anxiety with high public speaking anxiety (30.3 %), medium-risk social anxiety with no prominent characteristics (22.9 %), and high-risk social anxiety (30.4 %). Shy bladder and bowel and virtual life orientation increased the level of social anxiety from low to medium and high risk. Smoking and drinking were more prevalent in the low- and medium-risk subgroups than in the high-risk subgroup.

CONCLUSIONS

There was heterogeneity in different subgroups of social anxiety among youths with CSA experiences. Potential targeted prevention and intervention suggestions could be beneficial in mitigating the risk of social anxiety and further preventing the aggravation of risk between subgroups.

Childhood maltreatment, parenting style and anxiety in Chinese youths: A case-control study

BACKGROUND

Although evidence in supporting the associations between childhood maltreatment (CM), parenting style and anxiety in children and adolescents exists, few high-quality analytical epidemiological studies which focusing on clinically diagnosed anxiety disorders (AD) had been published.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to further corroborate the associations between CM, parenting style, and AD in a large representative sample of Chinese children and adolescents.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Study subjects were derived from the Mental Health Survey for Children and Adolescents in Yunnan (MHSCAY), a population-based cross-sectional program.

METHODS

Individually matched case-control study design was adopted. Univariate and multivariate conditional binary logistic regression models were used to estimate the associations between CM, parenting style and AD. Dose-response trends were estimated using the Cochran-Armitage Chi-square test. A series of stratified analyses were conducted to explore effect modification on exposure-outcome association by some important features.

RESULTS

Totally we screened out 202 cases and 404 matched controls, with an age mean of 14.43 years. Conditional logistic regression models revealed that EA and a higher level of parental over-protection were significantly associated with increased risk of AD, with adjusted ORs of 3.39 (95 % CI: 2.07-5.56) and 1.93 (95 % CI: 1.28-2.90). Stratified analysis identified noticeable effect modification by sex, age, and whether the only child in the family.

CONCLUSIONS

Major findings of this study suggested that children and adolescents who had experienced EA or raised up by over-protective parents are at increased risk of AD. Targeted intervention measures should be developed and implemented for these high-risk youths.

Linear and curvilinear association of pain tolerance and social anxiety symptoms among youth with different subgroups of childhood trauma

BACKGROUND

Social anxiety is a common symptom that occurs after exposure to childhood trauma (CT), and pain tolerance is a protective factor against social anxiety in generic populations with CT. However, few studies have investigated whether and how this association varies across different CT subgroups. Thus, this study aimed to investigate (1) the effects of pain tolerance on social anxiety symptoms among youth with different subgroups of CT; (2) the nonlinear relationship between pain tolerance and social anxiety symptoms among different CT categories.

METHODS

In this study, 15,682 college or university students with experiences of CT were identified in a large sample and divided into five CT subgroups. Linear and quadratic regression models were conducted to explore the association between pain tolerance and social anxiety symptoms among youth with different CT subgroups.

RESULTS

The results of model revealed a linear relationship between pain tolerance and social anxiety symptoms among youth with most CT subgroups. Notably, an inverted U-shaped curve was found between pain tolerance and social anxiety symptoms in youth with emotional abuse. Social anxiety symptoms increased gradually with pain tolerance scores between 0 and 16, and then sharply decreased when scores reached above 16.

LIMITATIONS

Limited by self-report measurements, the results of this study focused only on perceived pain tolerance and ignored behavioral pain tolerance.

CONCLUSION

These findings highlight the importance of assessing pain tolerance thresholds in youth with emotional abuse and improving pain tolerance to prevent social anxiety symptoms in youth with different subgroups of CT.

Anhedonia mediates the relationships between childhood trauma and symptom severity of PTSD and depression, but not of social anxiety

BACKGROUND

Childhood trauma is a risk factor for developing multiple forms of psychopathology, including depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and social anxiety. Yet, the mechanisms linking childhood trauma and these psychopathologies remain less clear.

OBJECTIVE

Here we examined whether anhedonia, a reduced ability to experience pleasure, may mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and symptom severity of depression, PTSD, and social anxiety.

METHODS

A total of 230 trauma-exposed participants aged 18-75 were assessed for lifetime trauma exposure, including general and childhood traumatic events, anhedonia, and symptoms of depression, PTSD, and social anxiety.

RESULTS

Controlling for age, gender, and general lifetime trauma exposure, mediation analyses revealed a significant mediation effect of anhedonia for the relationship between childhood trauma and symptom severity of depression and PTSD, but not social anxiety. To better understand these significant mediation effects, we repeated the analyses separately for childhood abuse and neglect, and then for the various subtypes of each type of childhood trauma. Results showed a significant mediation effect of anhedonia on symptoms of both depression and PTSD in individuals who reported high emotional and sexual abuse levels. F Anhedonia was also found to mediate the relationship between both emotional and physical neglect and symptoms of depression and PTSD.

CONCLUSION

These findings refine our understanding of the ways in which childhood traumatic experiences may be associated with different mental health problems by increasing anhedonia. Anhedonia may be an important treatment target in survivors of childhood abuse and neglect.

The Relationship Between the hOGG1 rs1052133 Polymorphism and the Occurrence of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objectives: Exploring the relationship between the hOGG1 rs1052133 polymorphism and the occurrence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, CNKI, Wanfangdata, and VIP were used to search for studies and the NOS evaluation scale was used to evaluate the quality. All studies were grouped according to different genotypes. The Cochrane's Q test and I2 test were used for heterogeneity evaluations. If heterogeneity was small, the fixed effects model was used, and conversely, the random effects model was used. Publication bias was also detected. P < .05 in all results indicated statistically significant. Results: We ultimately included 6 studies with 2021 NPC patients in the study group and 2375 healthy populations in the control group. After meta-analysis, it was found that the total OR value of the "Ser/Cys (CG) vs Ser/Ser (CC)" group was 1.00 (95% CI: 0.85-1.18) and the "Cys/Cys (GG) vs Ser/Ser (CC)" group was 1.06 (95% CI: 0.87-1.28). These results were not statistically significant (P > .05). Furthermore, the integrated total OR values of each group were not statistically significant with or without the smoking history, even in other genotype models (Allele, Dominant, Recessive, and Additive) (P > .05). Conclusion: There is no clear correlation between the hOGG1 rs1052133 polymorphism and the occurrence of NPC, even with or without the smoking history.

Emotional abuse and depressive symptoms among the adolescents: the mediation effect of social anxiety and the moderation effect of physical activity

Background

Childhood maltreatment has been identified as a risk factor for depressive symptoms. Social anxiety is closely associated with depression. Physical activity has been regarded as an underlying protective factor. Little is known about the complex relations among these factors in Chinese middle school students. This study aimed to explore whether social anxiety mediated the association between childhood maltreatment and depressive symptoms and investigate whether physical activity moderated the indirect or direct effect of the mediation model.

Methods

A total of 1,570 middle school students were recruited and measured for childhood maltreatment (measured by Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form Chinese version), social anxiety (as the mediator, measured by the Chinese simplified version of Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents), depressive symptoms (measured by the Chinese version of Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21), physical activity (as the moderator), and covariates such as age, sex, and nationality. The proposed relationships were tested using mediation and moderated mediation models.

Results

Emotional abuse was directly associated with depression, and the association between emotional abuse and depression was partially mediated by social anxiety. The associations between emotional abuse with depression and with social anxiety were moderated by physical activity.

Conclusion

This study revealed the mediating role of social anxiety and the moderating role of physical activity between emotional abuse and depression, which emphasizes the potential benefits of sufficient physical activity to reduce social anxiety and depressive symptoms, and more intervention studies should be conducted to explore the direct influence of sufficient physical activity in the future.