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Relationship of childhood maltreatment to the onset and course of major depression in adulthood
Author(s) -
Bernet Christine Z.,
Stein Murray B.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
depression and anxiety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.634
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1520-6394
pISSN - 1091-4269
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-6394(1999)9:4<169::aid-da4>3.0.co;2-2
Subject(s) - depression (economics) , ctq tree , psychology , psychiatry , comorbidity , anxiety , clinical psychology , poison control , injury prevention , sexual abuse , child abuse , age of onset , medicine , disease , domestic violence , environmental health , economics , macroeconomics
The objective of this research was to determine the prevalence of retrospectively recalled childhood trauma among despressed patients and to examine the relationship between retrospective recall of childhood maltreatment and the onset, course, and severity of major depression in adulthood. Forty‐seven adults with DSM‐IV major depression and forty‐one healthy comparison subjects were administered the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), a self‐report measure of traumatic experiences in childhood. Age at onset of first depressive episode, number of lifetime depressive episodes, current depressive severity, and presence of lifetime anxiety and substance use comorbidity were determined for the depressed patients using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐IV. Patients with major depression recalled significantly more severe emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and physical abuse than the healthy comparison subjects. Among the depressed subjects, the severity of childhood trauma (most notably emotional abuse) predicted 25–28% of the variance in age at onset of first depressive episode (earlier onset) and number of lifetime depressive episodes (more episodes). Depressed patients with recall of childhood trauma also experienced a significantly greater number of comorbid mental disorders (2.9 vs. 1.9) than depressed patients without trauma histories. The findings must be tempered by the possibility of a recall bias toward more adverse childhood experiences in the depressed patients. To the extent that these data are valid, they suggest that childhood maltreatment may influence the onset, course, and comorbid character of major depression. Depression and Anxiety 9:169–174, 1999. Published 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.