Childhood Trauma and Its Relation to Chronic Depression in Adulthood

Abstract

There is a large consensus indicating that childhood trauma is significantly involved in the development of depression. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of retrospectively recalled childhood trauma in chronically depressed patients and to investigate a more specific relationship between trauma type and depression. We further asked for the influence of multiple experiences of childhood trauma on the vulnerability to a chronic course of depression in adulthood. 349 chronically depressed patients of the German LAC Depression Study completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, a self-report measure of traumatic experiences in childhood. 75.6% of the chronically depressed patients reported clinically significant histories of childhood trauma. 37% of the chronically depressed patients reported multiple childhood traumatization. Experiences of multiple trauma also led to significantly more severe depressive symptoms. Stepwise multiple regression analysis suggested that childhood emotional abuse and sexual abuse were significantly associated with a higher symptom severity in chronically depressed adults. Yet, expanding the regression model for multiple exposures showed that multiplicity was the only remaining significant predictor for symptom severity in chronically depressed patients. Clinical implications suggest a precise assessment of childhood trauma in chronically depressed patients with a focus on emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and multiple exposures to childhood trauma. This trial is registered with registration number ISRCTN91956346.

Differences between chronic and nonchronic depression: Systematic review and implications for treatment

“…Regarding childhood adversity in CD in contrast to non‐CD, our results are too heterogeneous and too inconsistent to draw strong conclusions. To some extent, this is in contrast with the conclusions of previous studies that investigated associations of CD and childhood maltreatment (Brakemeier et al., ; Negele, Kaufhold, Kallenbach, & Leuzinger‐Bohleber, ; Wiersma et al., ). In the most recent meta‐analysis of Nelson, Klumparendt, Doebler, and Ehring (), childhood maltreatment, especially emotional abuse and neglect, was found to be a risk factor for severe, early‐onset, treatment‐resistant depression with a chronic course.…”

Childhood trauma: a risk for major depression in patients with psoriasis

“…Referring to Negele [28], the heterogeneous group of depressed patients signifies the different pathogeneses and childhood traumatic experiences are the most multifactorial models of psychosocial aspect on the aetiopathogenesis of depression. Depression per se can manifest in association with several physical diagnoses.…”

Early life adversity induced third ventricular enlargement in young adult male patients suffered from major depressive disorder: a study of brain morphology

“…In a cross-sectional study launched by Nigele et al 26 , clinically significant histories of childhood trauma could be reported in as high as 75.6% of chronic depression patients.…”