Childhood trauma and cognitive functioning in mood disorders: A systematic review

Clinical and personal predictors of functioning in affective disorders: Exploratory results from baseline and 6-month follow-up of a randomised controlled trial

Comprehensive knowledge of factors causing and sustaining functional impairment in patients with affective disorders is warranted. The aim is to investigate associations between clinical factors (such as affective symptoms) and personal factors (such as personality traits, coping strategies, and childhood trauma experiences) on functioning and improvement of functioning in patients with affective disorders. This exploratory study includes data from 103 patients with bipolar disorder and unipolar depressive disorder. Clinician-rated functioning was assessed at baseline using the Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST), and performance-based functioning was assessed at baseline and 6-month follow-up using the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS). Data on clinical and personal factors were collected at baseline. Personal factors were measured by the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPQ), Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Pearson correlations and multiple linear regression models were used to analyse the association of clinical and personal factors with baseline functioning (FAST) and to identify predictors of improvement in functioning (AMPS) from baseline to follow-up. At baseline, greater depressive symptom severity, the personality trait neuroticism, emotional coping, and childhood trauma all correlated with poorer functioning (higher FAST scores). In multiple linear regression models, depression severity, emotional coping and childhood trauma were significant predictors of poorer functioning. More childhood trauma was a predictor of less functional improvement measured by AMPS at 6-month follow-up. In conclusion, maladaptive coping styles and depressive symptoms contribute to functional impairment in patients with affective disorders, while childhood trauma has a negative impact on long-term functional outcomes.

The impact of childhood trauma on Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: the Chain Mediating role of borderline personality traits and self-control

BACKGROUND

The adolescent depression associated with childhood trauma has been confirmed, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to explore the chain-mediated role of borderline personality traits and self-control in the relationship between childhood trauma and adolescent depression.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 2,664 students from a senior high school through online questionnaires from October to December 2022 in Henan, China. Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form, Borderline Personality Dimension of Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4, Self-Control Scale, and Children's Depression Inventory were used to measure childhood trauma, borderline personality traits, and self-control.

RESULTS

The prevalence of depression in adolescents was 21.17%, while the prevalence of borderline personality was 12.00%. childhood trauma (r = 0.50, p < 0.001) and borderline personality traits (r = 0.60, p < 0.001) were positively correlated with adolescent depressive symptoms, while self-control was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms (r = - 0.50, p < 0.001). Borderline personality traits and Self-control both play a mediating role in childhood trauma and depressive symptoms, and the mediating effect values are 0.116 (95%CI = [0.098, 0.137]), and 0.022 (95%CI = [0.012, 0.032]) respectively. The chain mediating effect of borderline personality traits and self-control on the relationship between childhood trauma and depressive symptoms was significant (effect value: 0.034, 95%CI = [0.028, 0.042]).

CONCLUSIONS

Childhood trauma can predict depressive symptoms in adolescents due to the formation of borderline personality traits and the reduction of self-control. These findings are important for understanding the formation of personality traits, self-control abilities and coping strategies shaped by traumatic experiences in adolescents.

Type of cycle, temperament and childhood trauma are associated with lithium response in patients with bipolar disorders

BACKGROUND

Lithium stands as the gold standard in treating bipolar disorders (BD). Despite numerous clinical factors being associated with a favorable response to lithium, comprehensive studies examining the collective influence of clinical variables alongside psychopathological dimensions are lacking. Our study aims to enhance comprehension of lithium response in individuals with BD by integrating clinical variables with psychopathological traits and early adverse events.

METHODS

We assessed 201 patients with BD for clinical characteristics, childhood trauma, temperament traits, impulsivity, and aggression. Lithium response was evaluated using the gold standard Alda scale, and predictors of lithium response were estimated through a multivariate model.

RESULTS

On the total sample, 61 (30.3%) patients were lithium responders according to the Alda scale. Comparatively, lithium responders, in contrast to non-responders, demonstrated a higher prevalence of the mania-depression-interval (MDI) cycle, a more frequent diagnosis of BD type I, and reported an earlier age of onset. They also exhibited less lifetime substance abuse, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, while scoring higher on hyperthymic and irritable temperament scales. In multivariate analyses, only the MDI cycle (OR,3.47; 95%CI,1.61-7.50) hyperthymic (OR,1.20; 95%CI,1.02-1.41) and irritable temperament (OR,1.28; 95%CI,1.08-1.52) persisted as significant predictors of a positive response to lithium treatment, while emotional (OR,0.87; 95%CI,0.76-0.98) and physical abuse (OR,0.83; 95%CI,0.70-0.98) were predictors of non-response.

CONCLUSIONS

In evaluating lithium response in BD, our study highlights the importance of considering clinical variables alongside temperament and childhood adversities. The assessment of hyperthymic and irritable temperament, emotional and physical abuse together with the type of cycle is of particular importance. Furthermore, our findings underscore the significance of systematically assessing the type of cycle in patients with BD through the use of life charts.

Adverse childhood experiences and cognition: A cross-sectional study in Xhosa people living with schizophrenia and matched medical controls

BACKGROUND

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with impaired cognitive function in adult life in the general population as well as in people living with schizophrenia (PLS). Research on cognitive function in PLS in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) is, however, limited. The objectives of this study were to investigate the association between ACE types and various cognitive domains in a sample of PLS and matched medical controls, and to determine the moderating effect of group membership (PLS vs. medical controls) on these associations, in the South African setting.

METHODS

Participants (n PLS = 520; n medical controls = 832) completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I), and the University of Pennsylvania Computerized Neurocognitive Battery (PennCNB). An efficiency or speed score was used to assess performance across 9 cognitive domains. The association between exposure to different ACE types and 9 cognitive domains was examined using partial correlations and multiple linear regression models, adjusting for sex, age and education years. Finally, potential moderating effects of group membership (PLS vs. medical controls) on the association between ACEs and cognitive domains were tested.

RESULTS

In the entire sample, emotional and physical abuse predicted worse performance on sensorimotor and emotion identification domains. Also, emotional abuse was negatively associated with motor function, physical abuse was negatively associated with spatial processing, and physical neglect was negatively associated with face memory and emotion identification. In contrast, emotional neglect was related to better performance on abstraction and mental flexibility. No moderating effect of group membership was found on any of these associations.

CONCLUSION

Exposure to ACEs was associated with social and non-social cognition in adulthood, although the magnitude of these relationships was small and similar between PLS and matched medical controls. The nature of these associations differed across ACE subtype, suggesting the need for a nuanced approach to studying a range of mechanisms that may underlie different associations. However, a number of ACE subtypes were associated with worse performance on emotional identification, indicating that some underlying mechanisms may have more transversal impact. These findings contribute to the sparse body of literature on ACEs and cognition in PLS in LMIC.

Struggling Can Also Show on the Inside: Current Knowledge of the Impact of Childhood Maltreatment on Biomarkers in Mood Disorders

The link between childhood maltreatment and mood disorders is complex and involves multiple bio-psycho-social factors that affect multiple molecular pathways. The present narrative review aims to clarify the current understanding of the impact of childhood maltreatment on biomarkers in patients with mood disorders and their first-degree relatives. Neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and hormones (eg the stress hormone cortisol), play a crucial role in regulating mood and emotion. Childhood maltreatment can alter and affect the levels and functioning of these neurotransmitters in the brain; further, childhood maltreatment can lead to structural and connectivity changes in the brain, hence contributing to the development of mood disorders and moderating illness presentation and modifying response to treatments. Childhood maltreatment information, therefore, appears mandatory in treatment planning and is a critical factor in therapeutic algorithms. Further research is needed to fully understand these pathways and develop new treatment modalities for individuals with mood disorders who have experienced childhood maltreatment and effective preventive interventions for individuals at risk of developing mood disorders.

Independent effects of early life adversity on social cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of early life adversity on cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia, with a focus on social cognition (SC).

Methods

Two groups of patients with schizophrenia were recruited and matched on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. One group consisted of 32 patients with a history of childhood trauma (SCZ-ct), and the other group consisted of 30 patients without a history of childhood trauma (SCZ-nct). In addition, 39 healthy controls without a history of childhood trauma (HC-nct) were also recruited. The intelligence of the three groups was assessed using the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WAIS-RC) short version. The cognitive function evaluation was conducted using the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB), and early life adversity was measured using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ) and Bullying Scale for Adults (BSA).

Results

Patients with schizophrenia endosed significantly higher scores on the CTQ (F=67.61, p<0.001) and BSA (F=9.84, p<0.001) compared to the HC-nct. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and post-hoc analyses revealed that SCZ-ct (F=11.20, p<0.001) exhibited the most pronounced cognitive impairment among the three groups, as indicated in MCCB total scores and in the domain score of SC. CTQ exhibited a negative correlation with MCCB (r=-0.405, p< 0.001); SC was negatively correlated with physical abuse (PA) of CTQ (r=-0.271, p=0.030) and emotional abuse (EA) of BSA (r=-0.265, p=0.034) in the whole patient sample. Higher SC performance was significantly predicted by CT_total (Beta =-0.582, p<0.001, 95% CI -0.96-0.46), and years of education (Beta=0.260, p =0.014, 95% CI 0.20-1.75) in schizophrenia.

Conclusions

Besides familial trauma, schizophrenia patients appear to have a higher likelihood of experiencing bullying in their early life. These experiences seem to contribute significantly to their severe impairments in SC.

The relationship between childhood interpersonal and non-interpersonal trauma and autobiographical memory: a systematic review

Childhood trauma can have negative effects on several domains of mental functioning, including Autobiographical Memory (AM). Conflicting results emerge in the scientific literature regarding the effects of childhood trauma on AM. In this review, we explored the relationship between the childhood trauma and AM, classifying childhood trauma as interpersonal, non-interpersonal and overall (interpersonal and non-interpersonal). We carried out a systematic literature review, following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA statement). From searching the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, we identified 48 studies conducted from 2014 to 2023, which were included when they: (a) were written in English, (b) investigated the relationship between AM and childhood trauma, (c) included a sample of children, adolescents, or adults who had experienced childhood interpersonal and/or non-interpersonal trauma. Of the 48 eligible studies, 29 referred to trauma of an interpersonal nature, 12 to trauma of a non-interpersonal nature, and 7 to overall trauma. Regarding the relationship between childhood trauma and AM, 24 studies found a negative relationship between childhood interpersonal trauma and AM; among the articles on non-interpersonal trauma, 10 studies found no relevant relationship; in the studies on overall trauma, 4 articles found negative relationship between overall trauma and AM. The literature explored in our systematic review supports the prevalence of a negative relationship between interpersonal childhood trauma and AM. This relationship is present regardless of psychiatric disorders (e.g., Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Personality Disorders), and in the presence of the latter, AM results even more fragmented. Future research should use more accurate methodologies in identifying and classifying childhood trauma in order to more precisely determine its effect on AM.

Influence of childhood trauma on adolescent internet addiction: The mediating roles of loneliness and negative coping styles

BACKGROUND

In the information age, the use of the internet and multimedia tools has large effects on the life of middle school students. Improper use of the internet may result in internet addiction (IA). Thus, actively exploring the factors influencing adolescent and the mechanism of addiction as well as promoting adolescent physical and mental health and academic development are priorities that families, schools, and society urgently need to address.

AIM

To explore the effect of childhood trauma on adolescent IA and to consider the roles of loneliness and negative coping styles.

METHODS

A total of 11310 students from six junior high schools in Henan, China, completed the child trauma questionnaire, IA test, loneliness scale, and simple coping style questionnaire. In addition, data were collected from 1044 adolescents with childhood trauma for analysis with IBM SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 28.0; we examined the relationships among childhood trauma, IA, loneliness, and negative coping styles.

RESULTS

We found that childhood trauma not only directly affected adolescents' IA but also affected IA through loneliness and negative coping styles.

CONCLUSION

Therefore, this study has theoretical implications regarding adolescent mental health and may inform interventions for IA.