Section of Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospitals Leuven, KUL, Belgium.
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Aging Ment Health. 2020 Jun;24(6):898-905. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2019.1571017. Epub 2019 Feb 10.
Research suggests that vulnerability for anxiety and depression in late life results from a complex interaction between (neuro)biological and environmental factors. In this context, there is growing evidence for the role of childhood trauma on vulnerability for both anxiety and depression throughout the course of life, mainly through its effects on attachment as a biologically based neurodevelopmental stress regulation system. Yet, the impact of childhood trauma on depression and anxiety in late life specifically remains unclear. The current study therefore aims to investigate the association between retrospectively reported childhood interpersonal trauma, attachment dimensions and levels of anxiety and depression in late life. A sample of 81 community dwelling older adults completed measures of early and current adversity, attachment dimensions, and levels of anxiety and depression. The occurrence and frequency of childhood trauma, but not later negative adult life events, was associated with late life anxiety and depression. Both attachment anxiety and avoidance were related to anxiety and depression. Only attachment anxiety affected the association between childhood trauma, and emotional neglect in particular, and late life anxiety and depression. Childhood trauma may be associated with anxiety and depression in late life. Part of this association is probably indirect, via the effect of insecure attachment and high levels of attachment anxiety in particular.
研究表明，老年人焦虑和抑郁的脆弱性是（神经）生物学和环境因素复杂相互作用的结果。在这种情况下，越来越多的证据表明，童年创伤在整个生命过程中对焦虑和抑郁的脆弱性都有影响，主要是通过其对依恋的影响，依恋是一种基于生物的神经发育应激调节系统。然而，童年创伤对老年人抑郁和焦虑的具体影响仍不清楚。因此，本研究旨在调查回顾性报告的儿童期人际创伤、依恋维度与老年人焦虑和抑郁水平之间的关系。一个由 81 名社区居住的老年人组成的样本完成了早期和当前逆境、依恋维度以及焦虑和抑郁水平的测量。儿童期创伤的发生和频率，但不是后来的负面成人生活事件，与老年人的焦虑和抑郁有关。依恋焦虑和回避都与焦虑和抑郁有关。只有依恋焦虑影响了儿童期创伤与老年人焦虑和抑郁之间的关联，特别是情感忽视。童年创伤可能与老年人的焦虑和抑郁有关。这种关联的一部分可能是间接的，特别是通过不安全依恋和高水平的依恋焦虑的影响。
