Hartanto Andree, Yong Jose C, Lee Sean T H, Ng Wee Qin, Tong Eddie M W
School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University, Singapore.
School of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
J Ment Health. 2020 Aug;29(4):473-482. doi: 10.1080/09638237.2020.1714005. Epub 2020 Jan 25.
Childhood emotional abuse and neglect is linked with a host of adverse outcomes later in life, including depression. However, potential psychological resources that may mitigate the adverse outcomes of childhood emotional abuse and neglect are not well-understood. Drawing from the insight that having a sense of purpose can help individuals deal with setbacks and difficulties better, we propose that purpose in life can also help sufferers of childhood maltreatment cope more effectively and reduce the onset of depressive symptoms. Participants were drawn from two large, nationally representative studies comprising a total of 3664 respondents. Purpose in life, childhood emotional abuse and neglect, and depressive symptoms were measured with validated scales. We found convergent evidence that purpose in life attenuates the effect of childhood emotional abuse and neglect on subsequent depressive symptoms across a range of measures of mood and depression. The current study highlights the important role played by purpose in life in building resilience, coping against adverse life events, and psychological well-being.
童年期情感虐待和忽视与日后生活中的一系列不良后果相关，包括抑郁症。然而，可能减轻童年期情感虐待和忽视不良后果的潜在心理资源尚未得到充分理解。基于有目标感有助于个体更好地应对挫折和困难这一见解，我们提出生活目标也可以帮助童年期受虐待者更有效地应对，并减少抑郁症状的发作。参与者来自两项具有全国代表性的大型研究，共有3664名受访者。使用经过验证的量表测量生活目标、童年期情感虐待和忽视以及抑郁症状。我们发现了趋同的证据，即生活目标在一系列情绪和抑郁测量指标中减弱了童年期情感虐待和忽视对随后抑郁症状的影响。当前的研究强调了生活目标在建立复原力、应对不良生活事件和心理健康方面所起的重要作用。
