Child maltreatment and emergent personality organization: perspectives from the five-factor model

Child maltreatment predicts bullying/victimization through personality solidification: A weekly diary study

BACKGROUND

Bullying among adolescents is a significant public health concern worldwide. While child maltreatment (CM) is a known risk factor, few studies explore whether abused adolescents become bullies or victims and how CM affects day-to-day bullying/victimization. Existing research often uses cross-sectional and longitudinal designs with long intervals, failing to capture the dynamic nature of adolescence and bullying behaviors.

OBJECTIVE

Based on personality solidification theory, the study used a weekly diary method to examine the relationship between adolescents' CM and weekly bullying/victimization, as well as the mediating mechanisms of the Big Five personality traits.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

452 students (167 girls, Mage = 12.90, SDage = 0.48) from a junior high school in southern China participated in a 7-week diary study.

METHODS

After participants finished all questionnaires, multilevel models were constructed to analyze weekly diary data.

RESULTS

The findings indicated that CM positively predicted adolescents' weekly bullying/victimization, both directly and indirectly, through personality traits. Specifically, CM predicted weekly bullying through openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism, while it also forecasted weekly victimization through neuroticism.

CONCLUSIONS

CM had long-term adverse effects on adolescents' day-to-day bullying and victimization through the solidification of personality, which may provide significant theoretical and empirical foundations for the prevention of bullying in schools.

Direct and indirect effects of adverse and protective childhood experiences on symptom improvement in psychotherapy

To investigate the effects of adverse and protective childhood experiences on symptom improvement in outpatient psychotherapy.

We evaluated n = 648 completed outpatient psychodynamic psychotherapies. First, we estimated the rate of symptom improvement for each patient using a two-stage hierarchical linear model. We then calculated the direct and indirect influences of childhood experiences on the improvement rate using a structural equation model. Personality functioning, according to the Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis system, was examined as being a possible mediating factor.

The presence of adverse childhood experiences was directly associated with a slower improvement rate in psychotherapy. Moreover, a higher number of adverse childhood experiences was associated with greater impairments in the ability to communicate as one dimension of personality functioning, which in turn was associated with a slower improvement of symptoms. Protective childhood experiences were associated with fewer impairments in specific dimensions of personality functioning, but had no direct effect on the improvement rate.

Adverse childhood experiences can directly influence the course of psychotherapy. In addition, the communication dimension of personality functioning appears to be a central mediator on which adverse and protective childhood experiences act antagonistically and can thus indirectly affect the improvement rate in psychotherapy.

Examining childhood experiences and personality functioning as potential predictors for the speed of recovery during psychotherapy of patients with anxiety disorders

Background

Adverse childhood experiences were previously identified as relevant risk factors for the development of anxiety disorders. Furthermore, anxiety disorders were shown to be associated with impairments of personality functioning. The objective of this study was to investigate adverse and protective childhood experiences as well as personality functioning, as defined by the Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis system, as potential predictors for the speed of recovery during psychotherapy for patients with anxiety disorders.

Methods

The sample consisted of n = 312 completed psychotherapies. The speed of recovery, defined as symptom abatement over time, was calculated using a two-stage hierarchical linear model. The effects of adverse and protective childhood experiences as well as personality functioning on the speed of recovery during psychotherapy were then examined using a structural equation model.

Results

The presence of adverse childhood experiences predicted a lower speed of recovery during psychotherapy. In addition, a higher number of adverse childhood experiences was associated with greater impairments in the abilities of perception and regulation as dimensions of personality functioning. A higher number of protective childhood experiences was associated with fewer impairments in the communication and attachment dimensions. Impairments in personality functioning in patients with anxiety disorders did not predict the speed of recovery during psychotherapy.

Conclusions

Among patients with anxiety disorders, adverse childhood experiences lead to a lower speed of recovery during psychotherapy. Therefore, childhood adversity should be routinely assessed before and thoroughly addressed during psychotherapy in patients with anxiety disorders.

The effect of childhood trauma on depression in college students: A moderated mediation model

OBJECTIVE

Childhood trauma is considered as a critical risk factor for depression. Although many studies have investigated the pathway of Childhood trauma to depression, especially the mediating or moderating effects of cognitive emotion regulation strategies or neuroticism or stress perception, the results were inconsistent and the underlying psychological mechanisms of depression remain unclear. This study aims to explore the influence and mechanism of childhood trauma on depression in college students, and establish a full model among these interactive factors.

METHODS

1272 college students were surveyed using the childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ), short version of center for epidemiologic studies depression scale (CES-D), Chinese perceived stress scale (CPSS), neuroticism extraversion openness five-factor inventory (NEO-FFI), and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ).

RESULTS

(1) Childhood trauma, neuroticism, stress perception, and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies were all significantly and positively correlated with depression among college students; (2) Stress perception and neuroticism act as a chain mediator between childhood trauma and depression in college students. (3) Maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies play a moderating role in "childhood trauma-neuroticism-depression".

CONCLUSION

Childhood trauma increases the risk of depression in college students by affecting neuroticism and stress perception, and high levels of maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies link neuroticism and enhance the effect of childhood trauma on depression in college students.

The Effect of Childhood Poly-Victimization on Adulthood Aggression: The Mediating Role of Different Impulsivity Traits

This study investigated the effect of the poly-victimization pattern of traumatic childhood experiences on aggression via the impulsivity traits positive urgency, negative urgency, lack of perseverance, lack of premeditation, and sensation-seeking in 102 poly-victims of childhood trauma (71.57% were females; Mage = 35.76; SDage = 15.91). Analyses with poly-victimization as an independent variable, impulsivity traits as parallel mediators, (1) reactive aggression or (2) proactive aggression as dependent variables, and gender as a covariate revealed that the poly-victimization did not have a direct or indirect effect on reactive or proactive aggression, nor did it have an effect on any of the impulsivity traits. Moreover, lack of premeditation had a positive direct effect on reactive aggression, while gender was a significant covariate in both models, with males reporting more aggression than females. Findings suggest that the poly-victimization does not influence impulsivity traits and aggression in adulthood. However, in males, the poly-victimization had a positive and moderate correlation with reactive aggression and negative urgency, while these correlations were absent in females. This finding implies that males are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of childhood poly-victimization than females.

Revictimization Risk Factors Following Childhood Maltreatment: A Literature Review

Revictimization research, to date, has primarily focused on sexual revictimization (i.e., child sexual abuse and adult sexual assault), which has resulted in a lack of understanding of trauma revictimization more generally. Specifically, it is unclear what factors are placing individuals with a history of child maltreatment (i.e., sexual abuse, physical abuse, and witnessing intimate partner violence [IPV]) at greater risk for subsequent adult victimization (i.e., sexual assault and IPV). Existing theoretical and empirical work on revictimization suggest that multiple risk factors are likely present within this framework (e.g., posttraumatic stress symptoms [PTSS], emotion dysregulation, and risk-taking behaviors). Prior research has suggested that PTSS are often linked with these other risk factors, and it is possible that the development of PTSS following child maltreatment may be related to the development or maintenance of additional factors that increase the likelihood of revictimization. The purpose of this review was to synthesize findings regarding risk factors that place maltreated individuals at greater risk for adult revictimization. Approximately 228 studies were identified following a thorough search of the peer-reviewed literature using multiple databases (PsycINFO, PILOTS, and Google Scholar). Each study was critically analyzed for relevance. The included studies were used in our review of prevalence, specific risk factors that have been identified, and unanswered questions in this literature. PTSS were noted to be particularly important in the revictimization framework, and thus, a novel model of revictimization was also proposed where PTSS are illustrated as being associated with the development and maintenance of other factors within the revictimization framework.

Association between childhood maltreatment and callous-unemotional traits in youth: A meta-analysis

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits (i.e., lack of remorse or guilt, callous lack of empathy, deficient concern for the feelings of others) in youth with conduct problems confer risk for a particularly severe and persistent form of antisocial behaviour. Previous research has linked childhood maltreatment as a potential risk factor for CU traits, both primary (i.e., genetically underpinned) and secondary (i.e., environmentally influenced) variants, but findings have been inconsistent, and the association has not yet been tested in a meta-analysis. To address this gap, we conducted a meta-analysis to assess the nature and strength of the associations between childhood maltreatment and its subtypes with CU traits and potential variants (i.e., primary and secondary CU traits). A systematic search identified 29 eligible studies including 9,894 participants (42% female) between the ages of 3 and 18 years (Mage=14.22 years, SD = 1.07). Results revealed a significant moderate positive association between childhood maltreatment and CU traits. All subtypes of maltreatment bar sexual abuse were significantly associated with CU traits. However, it was not possible to compare primary and secondary CU traits directly due to inconsistencies in how they are defined. The limitations posed by current research signal the need for clinical and operational guidelines on how to define primary and secondary CU traits. Additionally, prospective longitudinal, genetically informed research is needed to clarify if maltreatment is a causal risk factor for CU traits.

Can employee engagement be attained through psychological detachment and job crafting: the mediating role of spirituality and intrinsic motivation

Purpose

The present study is to develop an additional perspective on when and why psychological detachment and job crafting behaviors in predicting employee engagement through spirituality and intrinsic motivation. It was hypothesized that spiritual employees are better able to detach themselves from work and craft their job according to their preference and abilities, which would inculcate experience and make them intrinsically motivated and thereby leading to employee engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample comprised 408 employees, who are employed in different organizations across India. To test the hypotheses, the author conducted structural equation modeling on SPSS AMOS 22.

Findings

The results highlight the partial mediating role of spirituality in the association of psychological detachment with intrinsic motivation as well as between job crafting and intrinsic motivation. The results highlight the fully mediating role of intrinsic motivation in the association of psychological detachment with employee engagement as well as between job crafting and employee engagement.

Practical implications

This study has depicted that spiritual employee who are psychologically detached and have proactive job crafting behavior can achieve higher intrinsic motivation and more engaged.

Originality/value

On the basis of the broaden and build theory, self-determination theory (SDT) and the recovery process (i.e. the effort-recovery model), this paper demonstrates that spirituality plays the role of predictor that drives psychological detachment and encourages job crafting, which has the ability to intrinsically motivate the employee and are able to more engaged in work.

Personality traits as mediators of the relationship between childhood trauma and depression severity in bipolar disorder: A structural equation model

BACKGROUND

Childhood trauma is negatively associated with depression severity in bipolar disorder; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We investigated whether personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness) mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and the severity of bipolar depression.

METHODS

Data from 209 individuals with bipolar disorder recruited for the Prechter Longitudinal Study of Bipolar Disorder were analysed. Using structural equation modelling, we examined the direct and indirect associations between childhood trauma (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire) and depression severity (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) - with the personality traits (NEO Personality Inventory-Revised) as mediators.

RESULTS

The direct effect of childhood trauma on depression severity (standardised β = 0.32, 95% bootstrap confidence interval [CI] = 0.20-0.45, p < 0.001) and the indirect effect via neuroticism (standardised β = 0.03, 95% bootstrap CI [0.002, 0.07], p = 0.039) were significant; supporting a partial mediation model. The indirect effect accounted for 9% of the total effect of childhood trauma on depression severity (standardised β = 0.09, 95% bootstrap CI [0.002, 0.19], p = 0.046). The final model had a good fit with the data (comparative fit index = 0.96; root mean square error of approximation = 0.05, 90% CI = [0.02, 0.07]).

CONCLUSION

Personality traits may be relevant psychological mediators that link childhood trauma to a more severe clinical presentation of bipolar depression. Consequently, a person's personality structure may be a crucial operative factor to incorporate in therapeutic plans when treating individuals with bipolar disorder who report a history of childhood trauma.

Co-worker ostracism and promotive voice: a self-consistency motivation analysis

This study utilizes self-consistency motivational theory to investigate the association between employees' experience of co-worker ostracism and their promotive voice, while also examining the mediating role of organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) and the moderating effect of emotional stability. We collected three-wave data from personnel in North American organizations and found that social exclusion by co-workers hinders employees' expression of constructive views about work-related matters as it dampens their OBSE. We observed that this mediating role of OBSE is mitigated to the extent to which employees have emotional stability, a dispositional feature that helps them control emotions, discipline impulses, and handle challenges. Overall, our study identifies a key mechanism, employees' belief about their self-esteem and proficiency as an organizational member, through which co-worker exclusion hampers promotive voice, and it reveals how their emotional stability might contain this process.

Differences in developmental problems between victims of different types of child maltreatment

This study examined differences in developmental problems between children who were victims of two child maltreatment dimensions: abuse versus neglect, and physical versus emotional maltreatment. Family demographics and developmental problems were examined in a clinical sample of 146 Dutch children from families involved in a Multisystemic Therapy - Child Abuse and Neglect treatment trajectory. No differences were found in child behavior problems within the dimension abuse versus neglect. However, more externalizing behavior problems (e.g., aggressive problems) were found in children who experienced physical maltreatment compared to children who experienced emotional maltreatment. Further, more behavior problems (e.g., social problems, attention problems, and trauma symptoms) were found in victims of multitype maltreatment compared to victims of any single-type maltreatment. The results of this study increase the understanding of the impact of child maltreatment poly-victimization, and highlight the value of classifying child maltreatment into physical and emotional maltreatment.

[Personality Models in the Context of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - Development, Change, Stability and Research Perspectives]

Personality models play an important role for the etiological understanding of abnormal development in clinical settings. In this selective review, relevant personality models are presented and, in particular, their developmental dynamics and adaptability over the life span, starting in childhood, are considered in detail. The focus is on the developmental psychopathological perspective of processes of ego-resiliency and self-regulation between the poles of disposition and social environment. This is particularly obvious in the discussion of developmental path models of personality dysfunction with experiences of abuse or disorganized attachment in the child's history. Psychopathologically, an ongoing impairment of self-regulation often results in stable patterns of maladaptation, which leads in the case of purely symptomatic treatment usually only to temporary behavioral modifications. On the other hand, the changeability of pathological personality traits through the use of targeted intervention approaches will favour of a positive outcome and contradicts a deterministic stability of personality characteristics. For future research perspectives in developmental psychopathology, various theoretical personality constructs are discussed and linked to clinical observations.

Borderline Personality Disorder: Risk Factors and Early Detection

Personality disorders (PDs) exert a great toll on health resources, and this is especially true for borderline personality disorder (BPD). As all PDs, BPD arises during adolescence or young adulthood. It is therefore important to detect the presence of this PD in its earlier stages in order to initiate appropriate treatment, thus ameliorating the prognosis of this condition. This review aims to highlight the issues associated with BPD diagnosis in order to promote its early detection and treatment. To do so, we conducted a search on PubMed database of current evidence regarding BPD early diagnosis, focusing on risk factors, which represent important conditions to assess during young patient evaluation, and on diagnostic tools that can help the clinician in the assessment process. Our findings show how several risk factors, both environmental and genetic/neurobiological, can contribute to the onset of BPD and help identify at-risk patients who need careful monitoring. They also highlight the importance of a careful clinical evaluation aided by psychometric tests. Overall, the evidence gathered confirms the complexity of BDP early detection and its crucial importance for the outcome of this condition.

Risk of Suicidal Behavior in Children and Adolescents Exposed to Maltreatment: The Mediating Role of Borderline Personality Traits and Recent Stressful Life Events

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is associated with increased non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal behavior (SB), independently of demographic and mental health conditions. Self-Trauma Theory and Linehan's Biopsychosocial Model might explain the emergence of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) symptoms as mediators of the association between CM and the risk of SB. However, little is known regarding such relationships when the exposure is recent for young persons. Here, we study 187 youths aged 7-17, with or without mental disorders. We explore CM experiences (considering the severity and frequency of different forms of neglect and abuse), recent stressful life events (SLEs), some BPD traits (emotion dysregulation, intense anger and impulsivity), and the risk of SB (including NSSI, suicide threat, suicide ideation, suicide plan and suicide attempt). We study the direct and mediating relationships between these variables via a structural equation analysis using the statistical software package EQS. Our findings suggest that youths exposed to more severe/frequent CM have more prominent BPD traits, and are more likely to have experienced recent SLEs. In turn, BPD traits increase the risk of SLEs. However, only emotion dysregulation and recent SLEs were found to be correlated with SB. Therefore, targeted interventions on emotion dysregulation are necessary to prevent NSSI or SB in children and adolescents exposed to CM, as is the minimization of further SLEs.

The Nexus of the Dark Triad Personality Traits With Cyberbullying, Empathy, and Emotional Intelligence: A Structural-Equation Modeling Approach

This study set out to elucidate the complex suite of associations between the Dark Triad personality traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy), emotional intelligence, empathy, and cyberbullying, as the respective findings regarding this topic have been inconsistent. Studies preponderantly have relied on abbreviated Dark Triad measures that do not differentiate between its lower-order facets. Further, most extant studies have exclusively been based on female psychology undergraduates and have not accounted for known sex differences on the Dark Triad traits and cyberbullying, or for negative associations between cyberbullying and age. Therefore, this nexus of interrelations was investigated in a diverse community sample (N = 749). A structural equation-modeling approached was used to examine predictors of cyberbullying and to test for mediating relationships between lower-order Dark Triad facets and emotional intelligence and empathy. Multigroup models were applied to test for sex-specific patterns. Empathy did not predict cyberbullying, whereas emotional intelligence partly mediated the Dark Triad associations with cyberbullying among both sexes. Sex-specific patterns in the associations between Dark Triad traits and cyberbullying were particularly observed for the grandiose and vulnerable narcissism facets. Emotional intelligence appeared to buffer effects of grandiose narcissism on cyberbullying. Future research could fruitfully explore cyberbullies' profiles regarding primary and secondary psychopathy, sex differences in narcissism, and buffering effects of emotional intelligence. Further improvements regarding the measurement of dark personality traits are indicated as well.

Prospective Associations of Parenting and Childhood Maltreatment with Personality in Adolescent Males

This longitudinal study examines whether early experiences with caregivers between the ages of 10 and 12 are associated with later adolescent personality at age 16 using both parent and child reports. Lower positive parenting was prospectively associated with higher neuroticism and lower extraversion and conscientiousness for both parent and self-reports of personality, as well as lower openness and agreeableness by parent report. Substantiated maltreatment was prospectively associated with greater neuroticism and lower agreeableness and conscientiousness assessed by parent report. Prospective associations were similar across Black and White participants. Positive parenting and, to a lesser extent, a lack of maltreatment were associated with adaptive personality profiles in adolescents, and associations were stronger for parent reports of personality.

Childhood Resilient Personality Trajectories and Associations with Developmental Trajectories of Behavioral, Social-emotional, and Academic Outcomes across Childhood and Adolescence: A Longitudinal Study Across 12 Years

This study examined the continuity and change of childhood resilient personality (first three years in grade school), and how differential trajectories in resilient personality were dynamically associated with behavioral problems, social-emotional functioning and academic performance across the primary and secondary school years (Grade 1-12). Participants were 784 academically at-risk students predominantly from low SES families (47% girls, 37.4% Latino or Hispanic, 34.1% European American, and 23.2% African American) who were recruited in grade 1 (Mean age = 6.57) and followed annually through the final year of high school (Grade 12). Results revealed three distinct trajectories of childhood resilient personality, including an ego-resilient or flexible group (26.8%), an ego-brittle or inflexible group (21.9%), and an ordinary or common group (49.9%). Children in the ego-brittle group were at a greater risk for sustaining high levels of behavioral problems, low socio-emotional functioning (based on parent and teacher report), and poor academic performance across formal schooling. In contrast, the resilient children exhibited persistently low behavioral problems, high social-emotional functioning, and better academic performance across formal schooling. Findings also indicated that the protective effect of childhood resiliency was sustained even after the transition from childhood to adolescence.

Risk Factors for Adult Depression: Adverse Childhood Experiences and Personality Functioning

Background: Depressive disorder is one of the main health problems worldwide. Many risk factors have been associated with this pathology. However, while the association between risks factors and adult depression is well established, the mechanisms behind its impact remains poorly understood. A possible, yet untested explanation is the mediating impact of levels of personality functioning, i.e., impairments with regard to self and interpersonal.

Method: Around 162 patients were assessed at the beginning of their therapy, with regard to risk factors, such as sociodemographic, physical, hereditary (Information Form), and adverse childhood experiences (ACE; CTQ). Depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI) and personality functioning (OPD-SQ) were also measured. Associations between the related variables as well as other possible covariates were examined by means of zero-order correlations and bootstrapping-based mediation analysis.

Results: Of all the risk factors taken into account, level of education and physical illness were associated with depression. On the other hand, the most significant predictor of depressive symptomatology was ACE, and this relationship was mediated by personality functioning. This indicates that patients presenting adverse childhood experiences are more likely to develop deficiencies in personality functioning, which in turn increases their likelihood of developing depressive symptomatology.

Conclusion: These results reaffirm the importance of incorporating risk and vulnerability factors such as personality functioning in understanding depression.

Child Abuse and Neglect, Callous-Unemotional Traits, and Substance Use Problems: the Moderating Role of Stress Response Reactivity

Young adults who experienced child abuse and neglect (CAN) are at significant risk for callous-unemotional traits and substance use problems. Research shows that compromised self-regulation may increase risk for these maladaptive outcomes. In the present cross-sectional study, we examined the moderating role of self-regulation, indexed by heart rate variability reactivity, in the indirect link between CAN and alcohol and other drug use problems via callous-unemotional traits. We utilized a sample of mostly female undergraduate students (N = 130, 81% Female; M _age  = 20.72). We hypothesized that (a) CAN and alcohol or other drug use problems would be associated indirectly via elevations in callous-unemotional traits, and (b) that this indirect association would be exacerbated by elevated heart rate variability reactivity. Results indicated that increased callous-unemotional traits underlain in the link between CAN and alcohol or other drug use problems. Further, this indirect link was exacerbated among youth with elevated heart rate variability reactivity. These findings have significant implications for prevention by demonstrating that physiological self-regulation is important to target in substance use prevention among collegiate samples.

Rostral middle frontal gyrus thickness mediates the relationship between genetic risk and neuroticism trait

Neuroticism is a robust personality trait associated with multiple mental disorders. Heretofore, research on the relationship among genes, brain, and behavior to explore individual differences in neuroticism is scarce. Hence, in this study (N = 630), genetic data, self-reported neuroticism, and brain structural data were combined to explore whether the cortical thickness (CT) of brain regions mediated the relationship between the polygenic risk score (PRS) of neuroticism and NEO neuroticism (NEO-N), and the enrichment analysis was performed to reveal the underlying mechanism of their relationship. Results showed that the PRSs were significantly associated with NEO-N scores (p < .05). The CT of left rostral middle frontal gyrus was negatively related to the best PRS in PRSice (PRS_best ) or the PRS at 0.05 threshold (PRS_0.05 ) (corrected p < .05), which was also found to mediate the association between the PRS and NEO-N (PRS_best : ab = .012, p < .05; PRS_0.05 : ab = .012, p < .05). Enrichment analysis revealed that these genes were mainly involved in biological adhesion, cell adhesion, neuron part, and synapse part, which were associated with the abnormal thickness of frontal cortex. By integrating genetic, brain imaging, and behavioral data, our research initially revealed the neurogenetic underpinnings of neuroticism, which is helpful for understanding individual differences in neuroticism.

Anxiety sensitivity and grit as mediators between childhood abuse and relapse risk for substance use

BACKGROUND

Childhood abuse is prevalent in those with substance use disorders (SUDs), and can lead to adverse consequences, including relapse to substance use following treatment.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether anxiety sensitivity (AS) and grit mediate associations between childhood abuse and substance use relapse risk.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Patients on an inpatient detoxification and stabilization unit seeking treatment for SUDs (N = 702).

METHODS

Participants were administered self-report measures assessing childhood physical and sexual abuse (CPA/CSA), AS, grit, and relapse risk. A parallel mediation model was used to investigate the association between childhood abuse and relapse risk as mediated by AS and grit.

RESULTS

Anxiety sensitivity was associated with greater relapse risk (β = 0.29, t = 8.24, p < 0.001). Indirect effects of CPA and CSA on relapse risk through AS were statistically significant (CPA: β = 0.05, 95 % C.I. = 0.02-0.08; CSA: β = 0.04, 95 % C.I. = 0.01-0.07), indicating AS significantly mediated effects of both CPA and CSA on relapse risk. Grit was not a mediator, however, higher grit score was significantly associated with decreased relapse risk (β = -0.17, t = -4.90, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Anxiety sensitivity may be an important construct linking child abuse to relapse risk. Although grit may not mediate the effect of child abuse on relapse risk, it may be clinically relevant to relapse risk. As this sample consisted of treatment-seeking adults, the generalizability of results to other populations is uncertain. Future studies should investigate interventions targeting these constructs in this population.

Mediating effect of neuroticism and negative coping style in relation to childhood psychological maltreatment and smartphone addiction among college students in China

BACKGROUND

Smartphones are convenient for college students. However, overuse of smartphone or smartphone addiction, can lead to problems related to healthy development. The cause of smartphone addiction can be traced to adverse childhood experiences such as childhood psychological maltreatment. Therefore, exploring the cause and mechanism underlying smartphone addiction in college students with a history of childhood psychological maltreatment is crucial.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to explore the mediating effect of neuroticism and coping style in relationship between childhood psychological maltreatment and smartphone addiction among college students.

METHODS

The participants included 1169 (43.8 % female and 56.2 % male) college students ranging in age from 17 to 23 years (M = 19.89, SD = 1.25). All participants completed a self-report questionnaire measuring childhood psychological maltreatment, neuroticism, coping style, and smartphone addiction symptoms. A multiple mediation model was used to test the hypotheses.

RESULTS

Findings from mediation analysis showed that both in parallelly and sequentially, neuroticism and negative coping style mediated the relationship between childhood psychological maltreatment and smartphone addiction.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study can provide an understanding of how childhood psychological maltreatment influences college students' smartphone addiction. This study also provides implications on how to reduce the effects of childhood psychological maltreatment on smartphone addiction in college students.

Psychophysiological influences on personality trajectories in adolescent females exposed to child maltreatment

Although child maltreatment is a major public health concern, which adversely affects psychological and physical development, we know relatively little concerning psychophysiological and personality factors that may modify risk in children exposed to maltreatment. Using a three-wave, short-term prospective design, we examined the influence of individual differences in two disparate psychophysiological measures of risk (i.e., resting frontal brain electrical activity and respiratory sinus arrhythmia) on the trajectories of extraversion and neuroticism in a sample of female adolescents (N = 55; M age = 14.02 years) exposed to child maltreatment. Adolescents exposed to child maltreatment with relatively higher left frontal absolute alpha power (i.e., lower brain activity) at rest exhibited increasing trajectories of extraversion, and adolescents exposed to child maltreatment with relatively lower respiratory sinus arrhythmia at rest displayed increasing trajectories of neuroticism over 1 year. Individual differences in psychophysiological measures indexing resting central and peripheral nervous system activity may therefore differentially influence personality characteristics in adolescent females exposed to child maltreatment.

Early and Midlife Predictors of Wisdom and Subjective Well-Being in Old Age

Objectives

We explored whether wisdom and well-being in old age are the result of early personality traits related to personality growth or personality adjustment, respectively, or successful human development as outlined by Erikson's stage theory and the life course paradigm.

Method

Structural equation models were applied to analyze 60-year longitudinal data of 98 white male Harvard graduates born between 1915 and 1924. Different sets of judges rated the men's childhood and adolescence, early adult personality, and midlife generativity. Items measuring wisdom and well-being in old age were self-assessed.

Results

Although wisdom and subjective well-being at age 80 were positively correlated, early life predictors differed. Openness to experiences in early adulthood predicted wisdom 60 years later, whereas greater emotional stability and extraversion predicted subjective well-being. Additionally, old age wisdom could be traced back to psychosocial growth throughout life, facilitated by a supportive childhood, adolescent competence, emotional stability in early adulthood, and generativity at midlife.

Discussion

Personality traits indicative of personality adjustment or growth differentially predict late-life well-being and wisdom. Yet a balance between personality adjustment and growth, aided by social support and competence during the formative years, might be required to promote wisdom development throughout life.

Associations Among Depressive Symptoms, Childhood Abuse, Neuroticism, Social Support, and Coping Style in the Population Covering General Adults, Depressed Patients, Bipolar Disorder Patients, and High Risk Population for Depression

BACKGROUND

Exposure to childhood abuse has been identified as a salient risk factor for the development of depression. However, the mediating factors between childhood abuse and depressive symptoms have not been sufficiently elucidated. This study aims to investigate the mediating effects of neuroticism, social support, and coping style between childhood abuse and depressive symptoms in population covering general adults, depressed patients, bipolar disorder patients, and high risk population for depression.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study. Five validated questionnaires were used to measure the psychological outcomes (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire CTQ-SF, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire EPQR-S, Social Support Rating Scale SSRS, Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire SCSQ, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 PHQ-9) of 312 participants. Multiple regressions and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to conduct data analysis.

RESULTS

Multiple regression analysis and SEM showed a significant association between childhood emotional abuse and depression symptoms. Neuroticism, use of social support, and active coping style were important mediating variables of this association. The R 2 for our model was 0.456, indicating that 45.6% of the variability in depressive symptoms can be explained by the model.

CONCLUSION

This study suggested that neuroticism, active coping, and use of social support play important role in mediating the effects of childhood abuse on adult depressive symptoms.

Adolescent Victimization and Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors: A Genetically Sensitive Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE

Victimized adolescents have an increased risk of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors. However, poor understanding of causal and non-causal mechanisms underlying this observed risk limits the development of interventions to prevent premature death in adolescents. This study tested whether pre-existing family-wide and individual vulnerabilities account for victimized adolescents' increased risk of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors.

METHOD

Participants were 2,232 British children followed from birth to 18 years of age as part of the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study. Adolescent victimization (maltreatment, neglect, sexual victimization, family violence, peer/sibling victimization, cyber victimization, and crime victimization) was assessed through interviews with participants and co-informant questionnaires at the 18-year assessment. Suicidal ideation, self-harm, and suicide attempt in adolescence were assessed through interviews with participants at 18 years.

RESULTS

Victimized adolescents had an increased risk of suicidal ideation (odds ratio [OR] 2.40, 95% CI 2.11-2.74), self-harm (OR 2.38, 95% CI 2.10-2.69), and suicide attempt (OR 3.14, 95% CI 2.54-3.88). Co-twin control and propensity score matching analyses showed that these associations were largely accounted for by pre-existing familial and individual vulnerabilities, respectively. Over and above their prior vulnerabilities, victimized adolescents still showed a modest increase in risk for suicidal ideation (OR 1.45, 95%CI 1.10-1.91) and self-harm (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.18-1.91) but not for suicide attempt (OR 1.28, 95% CI 0.83-1.98).

CONCLUSION

Risk for self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in victimized adolescents is explained only in part by the experience of victimization. Pre-existing vulnerabilities account for a large proportion of the risk. Therefore, effective interventions to prevent premature death in victimized adolescents should not only target the experience of victimization but also address pre-existing vulnerabilities.

Early Detection and Outcome in Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe and heterogeneous mental disorder that is known to have the onset in young age, often in adolescence. For this reason, it is of fundamental importance to identify clinical conditions of childhood and adolescence that present a high risk to evolve in BPD. Investigations indicate that early borderline pathology (before 19 years) predict long-term deficits in functioning, and a higher percentage of these patients continue to present some BPD symptoms up to 20 years. There is a general accordance among investigators that good competence in both childhood and early adulthood is the main predictive factor of excellent recovery in BPD patients. Some authors suggest that specific childhood personality traits can to be considered precursors of adult BPD, as well as some clinical conditions: disruptive behaviours, disturbance in attention and emotional regulation, conduct disorders, substance use disorders, and attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder. Unfortunately, diagnosis and treatment of BPD is usually delayed, also because some clinicians are reluctant to diagnose BPD in younger individuals. Instead, the early identification of BPD symptoms have important clinical implications in terms of precocious intervention programs, and guarantees that young people with personality disorders obtain appropriate treatments. This review is aimed to collect the current evidences on early risk and protective factors in young people that may predict BPD onset, course, and outcome.

Changes in daily manifestations of Openness to Experience during intensive cognitive-behavioral treatment

OBJECTIVE

Research examining relationships between trait Openness to Experience, psychopathology, and well-being has produced contradictory findings. Examining temporary manifestations of Openness may provide further insight into the interplay between Openness and symptoms in clinical populations.

METHOD

The present study validated a brief new measure to assess daily Openness in 271 adults (M_age = 34 years, 52% women, 83% White) taking part in 7 days of intensive treatment for acute psychopathology. Participants also completed a daily measure of depressive symptoms.

RESULTS

Participants overall experienced a significant but small increase in daily Openness during treatment. Two latent classes best characterized initial levels and trajectories of Openness in this sample: medium/increase (86% of sample) and low/decrease (14%). Daily Openness negatively related to depressive symptoms over the entire course of treatment and at the daily level. Daily Openness, however, did not predict depressive symptoms from one day to the next (or vice versa).

CONCLUSIONS

Results of this study contribute to the scientific understanding of positive personality change during challenging life circumstances. Future research could examine whether targeting Openness as part of treatment holds clinical value. Findings are limited by this study's short time frame and the lack of ethnoracial diversity in this sample.

Personality variables modify the relationship between childhood maltreatment history and poor functional outcomes

Childhood maltreatment history is a prevalent risk factor for substance use disorder and has lifelong adverse consequences on psychiatric wellbeing. The role of personality variations in determining childhood maltreatment-associated outcomes is poorly understood. This study sought to test neuroticism and agreeableness as mediator and moderator, respectively, of functional outcomes associated with having a history of childhood maltreatment and presence/absence of cocaine dependence. Ninety-four participants completed the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-IV), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), and the Addiction Severity Index (ASI). The distribution-of-the-product strategy tested if neuroticism mediated the relationship between CTQ and ASI scores. Agreeableness was tested as a moderator using bootstrapped multiple regression analyses with agreeableness*CTQ interaction terms as predictors of ASI scores. Analyses covaried for cocaine dependence to determine its influence. Neuroticism mediated the relationship between severity of childhood maltreatment history and family (ASI-Family) and psychiatric (ASI-Psychiatric) dysfunction in adulthood, independent of cocaine dependence. Agreeableness negatively moderated the effect of childhood maltreatment severity on family dysfunction. Exposure to emotional neglect and abuse selectively drove the mediation and moderation effects. Personality-directed interventions that reduce neuroticism or increase agreeableness may be promising approaches to uncouple childhood maltreatment history from lifelong social and psychiatric dysfunction.

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.

The Dissociation between Adult Intelligence and Personality with Respect to Maltreatment Episodes and Externalizing Behaviors Occurring in Childhood

Here we analyze the simultaneous relationships among five variables. Two refer to childhood (episodes of various forms of maltreatment and externalizing behaviors), whereas three refer to early adulthood (intelligence, personality, and socialization difficulties). The 120 individuals considered for the present report were invited from the 650 schoolchildren participating in the Longitudinal Study of Intelligence and Personality (Minas Gerais, Brazil). The complete sample was recruited in 2002 (T1; mean age = 10.0; standard deviation (SD) = 2.2) and 120 were tested again in 2014-17 (T2; mean age = 23.5; SD = 2.2). Externalizing behaviors were registered at T1, whereas the remaining variables were obtained at T2. These were the main results: (1) externalizing behaviors predict future social effectiveness (as estimated by the general factor of personality derived from the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R) and socialization difficulties computed from the socialization scale (SOC)) and future intelligence performance (as assessed by a set of fluid and crystallized tests); (2) episodes of self-reported childhood maltreatment predict social effectiveness, but not intelligence; (3) maltreatment and externalizing behaviors are unrelated; and (4) social effectiveness (personality) and intelligence are unrelated. Therefore, the findings support the dissociation between adult intelligence and personality with respect to maltreatment episodes and externalizing behaviors occurring in childhood. Implications of these findings for social policies aimed at preventing adult socially ineffective personalities are underscored.

Childhood Misfortune, Personality, and Heart Attack: Does Personality Mediate Risk of Myocardial Infarction?

Objective

Previous research has revealed a link between childhood experiences and adult health, but the mechanisms underlying this relationship are less clear. To elucidate this relationship, we investigated the pathway from childhood misfortune to nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI) via individual differences in personality.

Method

Longitudinal data were drawn from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States, which sampled 3,032 men and women aged 25-74 years at baseline. Big 5 personality traits and multiple measures of childhood misfortune were used to assess whether personality mediated the effect of childhood misfortune on MI risk.

Results

A series of proportional hazards models revealed that neuroticism mediated the effect of additive childhood misfortune on adult MI risk.

Discussion

Childhood misfortune may be formative in the development of personality, which, subsequently, can be consequential to health. These findings highlight the salient roles of early-life experiences and personality to shape health and aging.

Latent profiles of early developmental vulnerabilities in a New South Wales child population at age 5 years

OBJECTIVE

Detecting the early emergence of childhood risk for adult mental disorders may lead to interventions for reducing subsequent burden of these disorders. We set out to determine classes of children who may be at risk for later mental disorder on the basis of early patterns of development in a population cohort, and associated exposures gleaned from linked administrative records obtained within the New South Wales Child Development Study.

METHODS

Intergenerational records from government departments of health, education, justice and child protection were linked with the Australian Early Development Census for a state population cohort of 67,353 children approximately 5 years of age. We used binary data from 16 subdomains of the Australian Early Development Census to determine classes of children with shared patterns of Australian Early Development Census-defined vulnerability using latent class analysis. Covariates, which included demographic features (sex, socioeconomic status) and exposure to child maltreatment, parental mental illness, parental criminal offending and perinatal adversities (i.e. birth complications, smoking during pregnancy, low birth weight), were examined hierarchically within latent class analysis models.

RESULTS

Four classes were identified, reflecting putative risk states for mental disorders: (1) disrespectful and aggressive/hyperactive behaviour, labelled 'misconduct risk' ( N = 4368; 6.5%); (2) 'pervasive risk' ( N = 2668; 4.0%); (3) 'mild generalised risk' ( N = 7822; 11.6%); and (4) 'no risk' ( N = 52,495; 77.9%). The odds of membership in putative risk groups (relative to the no risk group) were greater among children from backgrounds of child maltreatment, parental history of mental illness, parental history of criminal offending, socioeconomic disadvantage and perinatal adversities, with distinguishable patterns of association for some covariates.

CONCLUSION

Patterns of early childhood developmental vulnerabilities may provide useful indicators for particular mental disorder outcomes in later life, although their predictive utility in this respect remains to be established in longitudinal follow-up of the cohort.

Trauma-Related Dissociation Is Linked With Maladaptive Personality Functioning

Background: Extensive research has demonstrated the positive associations among the exposure to traumatic experiences, the levels of dissociation, and the severity of psychiatric symptoms in adults. However, it has been hypothesized in clinical literature that an excessive activation of the dissociative processes following multiple traumatic experiences may jeopardize the psychological and behavioral functioning of the individuals, fostering higher levels of maladaptive personality functioning. Methods: The study involved 322 adult volunteers from Italy. Participants completed measures on traumatic experiences, dissociation, and maladaptive personality traits. Results: The number of traumatic experiences reported by participants were positively associated with dissociation scores and maladaptive personality scores. Mediation analyses showed that dissociation acted as a partial mediator in the relationship between traumatic experiences and overall maladaptive personality functioning. Regression curve analyses showed that the positive association between maladaptive personality functioning and dissociation was stronger among participants with higher exposure to traumatic experiences. Conclusion: Exposure to multiple traumatic experiences may increase the risk for an excessive activation of the dissociative processes, which in turn may generate severe impairments in multiple domains of personality functioning.

Borderline personality disorder

Caretakers are often intimidated or alienated by patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), compounding the clinical challenges posed by the severe morbidity, high social costs and substantial prevalence of this disorder in many health-care settings. BPD is found in ∼1.7% of the general population but in 15-28% of patients in psychiatric clinics or hospitals and in a large proportion of individuals seeking help for psychological problems in general health facilities. BPD is characterized by extreme sensitivity to perceived interpersonal slights, an unstable sense of self, intense and volatile emotionality and impulsive behaviours that are often self-destructive. Most patients gradually enter symptomatic remission, and their rate of remission can be accelerated by evidence-based psychosocial treatments. Although self-harming behaviours and proneness to crisis can decrease over time, the natural course and otherwise effective treatments of BPD usually leave many patients with persistent and severe social disabilities related to depression or self-harming behaviours. Thus, clinicians need to actively enquire about the central issues of interpersonal relations and unstable identity. Failure to correctly diagnose patients with BPD leads to misleading pharmacological interventions that rarely succeed. Whether the definition of BPD should change is under debate that is linked to not fully knowing the nature of this disorder.

Linking the emotional maturity factors and self-disclosure: a study of Indian organizations

Purpose

This paper aims to discuss a survey, carried out by the authors, of 256 employees employed in public and private manufacturing organizations in north India, to determine if emotional maturity factors have positive association with self-disclosure in the Indian context. Specifically, capitalization and social exchange theories support as major theoretical framework to examine the proposed relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample data used were collected through a cross-sectional survey-based research design and a convenience sampling method. Totally, 290 questionnaires were distributed during office hours, administered with a paper and pencil survey. However, in the final analysis, only 256 responses were considered for analysis using multiple hierarchical regression analysis.

Findings

Results reveal that all dimensions of emotional maturity positively associated with self-disclosure. This study fully supports the applicability of capitalization and social exchange theories while explaining the proposed relationships in Indian context.

Research limitations/implications

The present study used a cross-sectional survey-based research design; future studies may use longitudinal research design.

Practical implications

The study shows how to develop collective work culture and supportive work climate through emotional maturity and self-disclosure. Thus, employees become accustomed to multicultural team and cultural diversity issues at the workplace. The study also recommended that the organized employees social gathering will create positive feeling, and that such feelings of belonging to a group among employees will give reasons for self-disclosure and finally, in turn, to employee effectiveness.

Originality/value

More predominantly, the proposed association has not been examined before and the findings serve as a potential policy guideline for the self-disclosure literature through the perspective of capitalization and social exchange theories in understudied non-US cultures such as India.

Childhood maltreatment and adolescent sexual risk behaviors: Unique, cumulative and interactive effects

Child maltreatment has been associated with sexual risk behaviors. Previous investigators have typically studied only one form of maltreatment, preventing them from exploring interrelations between forms of maltreatment and their impact on sexual risk behaviors. Thus, this study aims to examine the unique, cumulative, and interactive effects of four maltreatment forms (sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect, and witnessing interparental violence) on sexual risk behaviors. The sample comprised 1940 sexually active adolescents (M_age=15.6; 60.8% girls) attending Quebec (Canada) high schools. Regression results showed that all maltreatment forms were associated with having a higher number of sexual partners, casual sexual behavior, and a younger age at first consensual intercourse. Physical abuse and witnessing interparental violence were associated with inconsistent condom use, and physical abuse was associated with sexually transmitted infections. After controlling for all forms of maltreatment (unique effects), analyses showed that sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect or witnessing interparental violence remained statistically associated depending on the sexual risk behavior. A greater number of forms of maltreatment was associated with more sexual risk behaviors (cumulative effect). When sexual abuse was not experienced, neglect was associated with a higher number of sexual partners (interactive effects). In general, associations between maltreatment and sexual risk behaviors were similar for both genders. The magnitude of the relationship between a specific form of child maltreatment and sexual risk behaviors may be inaccurately estimated when not controlling for other forms of maltreatment.

Adolescent friendships predict later resilient functioning across psychosocial domains in a healthy community cohort

BACKGROUND

Adolescence is a key time period for the emergence of psychosocial and mental health difficulties. To promote adolescent adaptive ('resilient') psychosocial functioning (PSF), appropriate conceptualisation and quantification of such functioning and its predictors is a crucial first step. Here, we quantify resilient functioning as the degree to which an individual functions better or worse than expected given their self-reported childhood family experiences, and relate this to adolescent family and friendship support.

METHOD

We used Principal Component and regression analyses to investigate the relationship between childhood family experiences and PSF (psychiatric symptomatology, personality traits and mental wellbeing) in healthy adolescents (the Neuroscience in Psychiatry Network; N = 2389; ages 14-24). Residuals from the relation between childhood family experiences and PSF reflect resilient functioning; the degree to which an individual is functioning better, or worse, than expected given their childhood family experiences. Next, we relate family and friendship support with resilient functioning both cross-sectionally and 1 year later.

RESULTS

Friendship and family support were positive predictors of immediate resilient PSF, with friendship support being the strongest predictor. However, whereas friendship support was a significant positive predictor of later resilient functioning, family support had a negative relationship with later resilient PSF.

CONCLUSIONS

We show that friendship support, but not family support, is an important positive predictor of both immediate and later resilient PSF in adolescence and early adulthood. Interventions that promote the skills needed to acquire and sustain adolescent friendships may be crucial in increasing adolescent resilient PSF.

Neuroticism as a risk factor for child abuse in victims of childhood sexual abuse

Findings on the relationship of experienced sexual abuse and abuse behavior in adulthood are ambiguous. However, associations between experienced abuse and neuroticism as well as between neuroticism and active child abuse have been reported repeatedly. In our study, we compared pedosexual child abusers with consumers of internet child pornography and control subjects with adult-sexual preference with regard to traumatic childhood experience (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, CTQ), personality traits (NEO - Personality Inventory - Revised, NEO-PI-R), and sexual abnormalities (Multiphasic Sex Inventory, MSI). In an initial analysis, sexual abuse experienced in childhood was not directly linked to sexual abuse behavior in adulthood. However, this relationship was mediated by neuroticism. In a second step, the CTQ scales were conflated and, using a structural equation model, direct links between the overall level of abuse experienced in childhood (generally high CTQ levels) and sexual abuse behavior in adulthood revealed again the mediation by neurotic personality. We conclude that the overall level of abuse experienced in childhood in general, and less sexual abuse experience in particular, modulates the tendency for child sexual abuse behavior in adulthood. Data suggest that, depending on the resilience of an individual, abuse experience during childhood increases the likelihood of developing neurotic personality traits in later life, which are in turn considered to increase the risk of child sexual abuse in child sex offenders.

Bipolar Disorder and Early Emotional Trauma: A Critical Literature Review on Indicators of Prevalence Rates and Clinical Outcomes

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After participating in this activity, learners should be better able to:• Evaluate the prevalence of early emotional trauma in patients with bipolar disorder (BD)• Assess the impact of these traumas on patients and on their development of BD OBJECTIVES: We performed a systematic literature review to (1) evaluate the prevalence of early emotional trauma (EET) in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) and the impact of these traumas on the development of the disorder, and (2) integrate the findings of our review with those previously reported by Fisher and Hosang, Daruy-Filho and colleagues, and Maniglio.

METHODS

The literature search was performed on PubMed, SciELO, and PsycINFO databases using the keywords bipolar disorder, early trauma, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, maltreatment, adversity, and neglect.

RESULTS

Twenty-eight articles were selected and analyzed. Taken together, the articles described a high prevalence of EET in BD, consisting mainly of emotional neglect/abuse (approximately 40%), particularly when compared to healthy subjects. The review also identified substantial evidence regarding an association between the presence of EET, early disease onset, rapid cycling, comorbidity with anxiety/stress disorders, and cannabis use.

CONCLUSION

The integration of the current findings with the identified studies reveals that (1) the methodological limitations noted by Daruy-Filho and colleagues have been largely resolved in more recent studies and (2) the presence of EET in patients with BD is associated with worse clinical outcomes, particularly early disease onset, presence of clinical or psychiatric comorbidities, suicide, and presence of psychotic episodes/symptoms. The review shows that patients with BD experience more traumatic situations than controls and that emotional trauma is the most frequent type of trauma in this group.

Retrospective Reports of Childhood Misfortune Are Associated With Positive and Negative Affect in Adulthood

Childhood misfortune refers to nonnormative experiences individuals encounter at younger ages that affect development across the life span. This study examined whether retrospectively reported childhood misfortune was associated with negative and positive affect in adulthood. In addition, we explored whether perceived control beliefs would moderate these associations. We used archival data from 6,067 adults ( Mage = 46.86; range = 20-75) from the Midlife Development in the United States study. Higher levels of misfortune were associated with higher levels of negative affect and lower levels of positive affect in adulthood. However, control beliefs moderated this association such that the combination of higher perceived control and misfortune resulted in less of a decrease in positive affect and less of an increase in negative affect. Overall, early life events were associated with later life emotional health, and control beliefs were an important psychological resource that buffered the negative effects of childhood misfortune.

Residential Schools

Government commissions have demonstrated that residential schools’ ability to educate aboriginal students was compromised by widespread problems including (a) inadequate curriculum, staffing, instruction time, and parental involvement; (b) racism; (c) prohibition against the use of aboriginal language; and (d) maltreatment. This article uses psychological research and theory to explain how such problems exposed aboriginal children and adolescents to increased risk of poor academic performance, reduced capacity to continue education after leaving the residential school, limited employment prospects, and reduced income as adults.

The different faces of impulsivity as links between childhood maltreatment and young adult crime

Crime is a major public health and safety threat. Many studies have suggested that early exposure to child maltreatment increases an individual's risk for persistent serious crime in adulthood. Despite these findings about the connection between child maltreatment and criminal behavior, there is a paucity of empirically-based knowledge about the processes or pathways that link child maltreatment to later involvement in crime. Using a community sample of 337 young adults (ages 18-25) in a U.S. metropolitan area, the present study examined the role of various facets of impulsivity in linking child maltreatment to crime. A series of factor analyses identified three types of crime including property crime, violent crime, and fraud. Structural equation modelings were conducted to examine the associations among childhood maltreatment, four facets of impulsivity, and criminal behavior, controlling for sociodemographic information, family income and psychological symptoms. The present study found that child emotional abuse was indirectly related to property crime and fraud through urgency while a lack of premeditation mediates the relationship between child neglect and property crime. Child physical abuse was directly related to all three types of crime. Personality traits of urgency and lack of premeditation may play a significant role in the maltreatment-crime link. Preventive interventions targeting impulsivity traits such as urgency and a lack of premeditation might have promising impacts in curbing criminal behavior among maltreatment victims.

Narcissism and newlywed marriage: Partner characteristics and marital trajectories

Despite narcissism's relation with interpersonal dysfunction, surprisingly little empirical research has been devoted to understanding narcissism's effect on intimate relationships in general or marital relationships in particular. The current study addressed this gap using longitudinal data from a community sample of 146 newlywed couples assessed 6 times over the first 4 years of marriage. First, we examined partner characteristics associated with higher levels of narcissism to determine the degree to which couples were matched on narcissism and related traits. Second, we examined how narcissism predicted the trajectory of marital quality over time, testing narcissism's association with initial levels of relationship functioning (the intercept) and changes in relationship functioning (the slope). Results indicated a small degree of homophily but otherwise no clear pattern of partner characteristics for individuals higher in narcissism. Hierarchical linear modeling indicated that wives' total narcissism and entitlement/exploitativeness scores predicted the slope of marital quality over time, including steeper declines in marital satisfaction and steeper increases in marital problems. Husbands' narcissism scores generally had few effects on their own marital quality or that of their wives. These findings are notable in indicating that the effects of personality characteristics on marital functioning may take some time to manifest themselves, even if they were present from early in the marriage. Future research into the mediating psychological and interpersonal processes that link wives' narcissism with poorer marital functioning over time would be valuable.

Dimensions of Personality Pathology in Adolescence: Longitudinal Associations With Big Five Personality Dimensions Across Childhood and Adolescence

To investigate validity of the dimensions that underlie pathological personality in adolescence, we delineated the hierarchical structure of the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Short Form-Adolescent version (DAPP-SF-A; Tromp & Koot, 2008) and examined longitudinal associations with Big Five personality dimensions assessed four times from middle childhood to late adolescence. A total of 426 adolescents provided self-reports on the DAPP-SF-A (age M = 18.6, SD = 1.17; 53% female). Mothers provided information on their child's personality eleven, eight, five, and three years earlier. Previous findings on the hierarchical structure of the DAPP-BQ replicated up to the four-component solution (emotional dysregulation, dissocial behavior, inhibition, and compulsivity). In the solution, a thought disturbance component emerged. Interestingly, the five-component solution already showed most differentiated associations with childhood personality in middle childhood. Childhood personality dimensions predicted four out of five adolescent pathological personality traits, indicating continuity of normal and abnormal personality across childhood and adolescence.

Childhood maltreatment, maladaptive personality types and level and course of psychological distress: A six-year longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

Childhood maltreatment and maladaptive personality are both cross-sectionally associated with psychological distress. It is unknown whether childhood maltreatment affects the level and longitudinal course of psychological distress in adults and to what extent this effect is mediated by maladaptive personality.

METHODS

A sample of 2947 adults aged 18-65, consisting of healthy controls, persons with a prior history or current episode of depressive and/or anxiety disorders according to the Composite Interview Diagnostic Instrument were assessed in six waves at baseline (T0) and 1 (T1), 2 (T2), 4 (T4) and 6 years (T6) later. At each wave psychological distress was measured with the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Fear Questionnaire. At T0 childhood maltreatment types were measured with a semi-structured interview (Childhood Trauma Interview) and personality traits with the NEO-Five Factor Inventory.

RESULTS

Using latent variable analyses, we found that severity of childhood maltreatment (emotional neglect and abuse in particular) predicted higher initial levels of psychological distress and that this effect was mediated by maladaptive personality types. Differences in trajectories of distress between persons with varying levels of childhood maltreatment remained significant and stable over time.

LIMITATIONS

Childhood maltreatment was assessed retrospectively and maladaptive personality types and level of psychological distress at study entry were assessed concurrently.

CONCLUSIONS

Routine assessment of maladaptive personality types and possible childhood emotional maltreatment in persons with severe and prolonged psychological distress seems warranted to identify persons who may need a different or more intensive treatment.