The assessment of childhood maltreatment and its associations with affective symptoms in adulthood: Results of the German National Cohort (NAKO)

No Sex Differences in Self-Reported Childhood Maltreatment in Major Depressive and Bipolar Disorders: A Retrospective Study

“…It should be noted that in the study by Serafini and co-workers [ 42 ], all the CTQ-subscale scores, except for CEA, were unexpectedly low in both MDD and BD samples. However, our findings in patients are consistent with the lower CSA rate in the Italian general population compared to the approximately 13% reported in various international studies [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. According to an Italian official estimate, approximately 6% of a large sample of Italian women aged 19 to 60 experienced some form of sexual abuse during childhood [ 43 ], while a more recent official report indicated that 5% of Italian adults (7.8% of women and 2.2% of men) were subjected to sexual acts against their will when they were under 18 [ 44 ].…”

“…In accordance with previous international reports, we identified considerable rates of CM in entire samples of patients with MDD or BD that were higher than those typically reported in the general population [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Furthermore, no significant differences in CM were found between the two samples.…”

“…Larger variations in terms of prevalence rates were identified for the other CM types, with estimates ranging from 12% to 35–40% [ 12 , 14 , 15 ]. In contrast to the widely, but not universally [ 17 ] observed female majority of sexual victimization, there did not appear to be a sex-based preponderance for the other CM types in the general population [ 18 ], except for two recent studies in Germany that found more severe CEA, in addition to CSA, in women than in men [ 15 , 16 ]. Finally, relationships between participants’ age and self-reported CM have recently been identified, with older age being significantly associated with a higher prevalence of CPN [ 15 ], and older birth cohorts being associated with higher rates of any CM, particularly childhood neglect [ 16 ].…”

“…In population-based studies worldwide, self-reported CM was found to be highly prevalent, with approximately 30–35% of participants reporting at least one type of CM [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Taking into account that geographical, socioeconomic, and methodological factors can affect differences in CM estimates from around the world [ 17 , 18 ], the recent international prevalence of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in the general population was approximately 13%, with a higher rate in women (approximately 18%) than in men (approximately 8–9%) [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Larger variations in terms of prevalence rates were identified for the other CM types, with estimates ranging from 12% to 35–40% [ 12 , 14 , 15 ].…”

“…CM was assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), which is the most widely used tool for retrospective CM assessment for clinical and research purposes [ 10 , 19 , 38 ]. As relationships between individuals’ age and CTQ-based self-reported CM in the general population were found [ 15 , 16 ], the potential impacts of patients’ age on the CM self-report have been investigated.…”