Childhood Maltreatment, Limbic Dysfunction, Resilience, and Psychiatric Symptoms

Interaction of perceived social support and childhood maltreatment on limbic responsivity towards negative emotional stimuli in healthy individuals

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is associated with increased limbic activity, while social support is linked to decreased limbic activity towards negative stimuli. Our study aimed to explore the interaction of perceived social support with CM, and their combined impact on limbic activity in negative emotion processing. A total of 130 healthy individuals (HC) underwent a negative emotional face processing paradigm. They were divided into two groups based on the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire: n = 65 HC without CM matched with n = 65 HC with CM. In a region-of-interest approach of the bilateral amygdala-hippocampus-complex (AHC), regression analyses investigating the association of CM and perceived social support with limbic activity and a social support x CM ANCOVA were conducted. CM was associated with increased AHC activity, while perceived social support tended to be associated with decreased AHC activity during negative emotion processing. The ANCOVA showed a significant interaction in bilateral AHC activity (pFWE ≤ 0.024) driven by a negative association between perceived social support and bilateral AHC activity in HC without CM. No significant association was observed in HC with CM. Exploratory analyses using continuous CM scores support this finding. Our results suggest that CM moderates the link between perceived social support and limbic activity, with a protective effect of perceived social support only in HC without CM. The lack of this effect in HC with CM suggests that CM may alter the buffering effect of perceived social support on limbic functioning, highlighting the potential need for preventive interventions targeting social perception of HC with CM.

The Role of Environmental Sensitivity in the Relationship Between Childhood Maltreatment and Self-Conscious Emotions of Shame and Guilt: A Brief Report

The association between childhood maltreatment and self-conscious emotions has been proven by the literature, but with limited attention to the specific moderating mechanisms involved. Highly sensitive individuals show emotional reactivity, ease of overstimulation, which make them more influenced by childhood maltreatment experiences. The study aims to test whether environmental sensitivity moderated the link between childhood maltreatment and self-conscious emotions of shame and guilt. The sample included 128 children referred for Oppositional Defiant Disorder (M age = 9.05; SD = 1.34). Results showed a significant interaction between maltreatment and environmental sensitivity on guilt and shame (B = 1.81, SE = .84, p < .05; B = 1.69, SE = .83, p < .05): highly sensitive children presented higher levels of shame and guilt following experiences of maltreatment as compared to low sensitive children. These findings may contribute to the literature on the role of environmental sensitivity as an individual trait moderating the effect of a contextual experience.

Child maltreatment and resilience in adulthood: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Although child maltreatment (CM) has been linked to health problems and poor psychosocial functioning, not all individuals exposed to CM develop or experience negative consequences later in life. This suggests that some individuals show resilience after being exposed to CM. However, conclusions have been limited by inconsistent findings across different CM subtypes and resilience domains.Objective: To develop a protocol for conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify associations between CM (overall and its subtypes) and resilience (global and its multiple domains) in adulthood, and to examine moderators and mediators of these associations.Method: PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science will be searched to identify relevant studies on the association between CM (exposure) and resilience (outcome) in adults (≥ 18 years). Data will be screened and extracted by at least two independent reviewers. The methodological quality of the included studies will be independently assessed with a modified version of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). If deemed viable, a meta-analysis will be conducted using a random effects model. Heterogeneity of evidence will be estimated with the I2 statistic, and publication bias will be assessed. The effects of potential moderators (e.g. timing and severity of CM, age, sex, family cohesion, socio-economic status, country/region) will be analysed using meta-regression and subgroup analyses, and meta-analytical structural equation modelling will be employed to synthesise indirect mediation effects. Candidate moderators and mediators (e.g. genetic factors, brain functioning, attachment style, personality traits, physical activity, and social support) will be also examined qualitatively.Conclusions: This protocol will facilitate a systematic review and meta-analysis that has the potential to enhance our knowledge about the association between CM exposure in early life and resilience in adulthood. Understanding associations and underlying mechanisms between CM and resilience is potentially important in informing prevention and interventions to sustain health and improve outcomes among adults with a history of CM.PROSPERO registration: CRD42023394120.

A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Childhood Maltreatment on Elderly Depression

Background: The present study aimed to synthesize the effects of five types of child maltreatment (physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect and emotional neglect) on late-life depression.Method: Four English-language databases (Web of Science, PsycINFO and PsycARTICLES, PubMed, and Cochrane Library) and three Chinese databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, and Weipu Database) were systematically reviewed, and data related to the association between child maltreatment and late-life depression were extracted. Ten studies involving 30,308 older adults were included, and the effect sizes were pooled using random-effect models.Findings: Except for sexual abuse, four types of child maltreatment were found to be positively associated with late-life depression. Physical abuse, emotional abuse and physical neglect were associated with elderly depression (PA: OR = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.55-1.95, p < .001; EA: OR = 1.92, 95% CI = 1.73-2.12, p < .001; PN: OR = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.15-3.67, p < .01) at a small level, and emotional neglect was associated with elderly depression (OR = 3.25, 95% CI = 1.43-7.39, p < .001) at an approximately moderate level. Gender moderated the relationship between physical neglect, emotional neglect, and late-life depression.Conclusion: Our findings highlight the significance of child maltreatment in the development of late-life depression, and underscore the need for future research and practice to explore potential ways to address late-life depression among older adults who suffered child maltreatment.

Examining relationships between positive and adverse childhood experiences with physical and mental health indicators in a low-income adult sample

BACKGROUND

Emerging research on positive and adverse childhood experiences (PCEs and ACEs) indicates that both may be important to adult health, but little is understood about the pathways through which childhood experiences affect adult health.

OBJECTIVE

The aims of this study were to 1) examine how shame may mediate the relationship between childhood experiences and health, and 2) whether PCEs moderated the relationship between ACEs, shame, and adult health.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

The sample consisted of 206 low-income adults ages 18-55 who were living in a community in the Intermountain West.

METHODS

Participants were recruited at a local food bank and community center where various services for low-income residents were offered. Each participant completed a 15-20-minute survey. The data were analyzed using a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework.

RESULTS

Shame mediated the relationship between both ACEs and PCEs with depression in the expected direction. Among participants with low-to-moderate PCEs, ACEs were directly associated with shame and tobacco usage. Among participants with high PCEs, ACEs were not associated with shame, depression, nor stress, and the relationship between ACEs and tobacco usage was attenuated.

CONCLUSION

Shame may be an important pathway through which childhood experiences affect adult health. Additionally, promoting high levels of PCEs may mitigate the negative effects of early adversity on adult health.

The effects of childhood maltreatment on cyberbullying in college students: The roles of cognitive processes

Previous studies suggested that childhood maltreatment was associated with cyberbullying. However, it's not clear the internal cognitive processes of how maltreatment causes cyberbullying. Therefore, the current study aims to explore the effect of childhood maltreatment on cyberbullying and the mediating effects of hostile attribution bias and anger rumination. A sample of 528 college students completed the measures of childhood maltreatment, cyberbullying, hostile attribution bias, and anger rumination. Multiple mediation analysis and bootstrapping showed that hostile attribution bias and anger rumination mediated the link between child maltreatment and cyberbullying. The results of this study suggested that childhood maltreatment increased the risk of cyberbullying, which was caused by a co-effect of hostile attribution bias and anger rumination, and it provides an intervention direction for effectively preventing the cyberbullying in abused individuals.

Relationships Among Childhood Maltreatment, Limbic System Dysfunction, and Eating Disorders in College Women

The mechanisms linking childhood maltreatment and eating pathology are not fully understood. We examined the mediating role of limbic system dysfunction in the relationships between three forms of childhood maltreatment (parental psychological maltreatment, parental physical maltreatment, and parental emotional neglect) and eating disorder symptoms. A convenience sample of college women (N = 246, M age = 19.62, SD = 2.41) completed measures of maltreatment (Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales and the Parental Bonding Instrument), limbic system dysfunction (Limbic System Questionnaire), and eating pathology (Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire). We hypothesized that there would be an indirect effect of each type of childhood maltreatment on eating disorder symptoms via limbic system irritability. Results generally supported the hypotheses. Examination of the individual paths that defined the indirect effect indicated that higher reported childhood maltreatment was associated with greater limbic irritability symptoms, and higher limbic irritability symptomatology was related to higher total eating disorder scores. There were no significant direct effects for any of the proposed models. Findings are in line with research supporting the role of limbic system dysfunction as a possible pathway in the maltreatment-eating disorder link. Given that limbic system dysfunction may underlie behavioral symptoms of eating disorders, efforts targeting limbic system dysfunction associated with child maltreatment might best be undertaken at an early developmental stage, although interventions for college women struggling with eating disorders are also crucial.

The role of emotional intelligence and negative affect as protective and risk factors of aggressive behavior: A moderated mediation model

The General Aggression Model (GAM) offers an integrative explanation of the aggressive behavior based on three stages: 1) inputs: personal and situational factors; 2) routes or individual internal states: affect, cognition, and arousal; and 3) outcomes: decision processes with a (non) aggressive result. Researchers are interested in looking for protective factors within the GAM to diminish aggression. Previous studies have found two relevant variables acting independently as risk and protective factors: emotional intelligence (EI) and negative affect (NA). The aim of the present study is to analyze a moderated mediation model including these variables as an explanation of aggressive behavior and integrate it within the GAM. Four hundred and six participants were assessed on EI, NA, and aggression. The moderated mediation analysis showed a significant negative indirect effect of the perceiving EI branch on total aggression mediated through NA levels, which, in turn, was moderated by the managing EI branch. Moreover, this relationship was also observed for the physical, anger, and hostility sub-scales of aggression. Our study demonstrates the importance of having a high ability to perceive emotions as a protective factor in the first stage of the GAM. These individuals will present lower NA in the second stage of the model, resulting in a reduction in aggression. Moreover, having a high ability to perceive emotions is particularly relevant for individuals that are less able to manage emotions, given that those participants with higher scores on the managing EI branch can reduce their aggressive behavior by mitigating the effect of NA on aggression in the third stage of the GAM.