Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114; Harvard Medical School.
Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114; Harvard Medical School.
J Affect Disord. 2021 Jan 1;278:276-279. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.09.072. Epub 2020 Sep 16.
The relationship between life stress and depression and anxiety is well characterized in adolescents and adults. Further, research has shown that adolescents and adults with a history of childhood maltreatment are more likely to develop depression and anxiety after being exposed to stress than those without this history. However, the processes underlying risk for depression and anxiety in maltreated preadolescent children are unclear. The current study sought to identify these processes in at-risk preadolescents.
This study analyzed data from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect and evaluated interpersonal and non-interpersonal life stress as predictors of depression and anxiety specifically, and internalizing symptoms more generally, in a sample of children vulnerable or exposed to maltreatment (n = 1,049). Participants were assessed repeatedly over a six-year period of early-to-mid childhood.
Interpersonal life stress prospectively predicted greater depression and anxiety, but not general internalizing symptoms after emotional and behavioral problems, as well as child's sex, family income and baseline maternal depressive symptoms, were covaried. Non-interpersonal life stress was not prospectively predictive of depression and anxiety or general internalizing symptoms.
The study was unable to identify specific types of interpersonal stress most relevant to risk for depression and anxiety in preadolescent children.
These findings lend support for the importance of interpersonal stress when screening for risk for depression and anxiety among preadolescent children vulnerable or exposed to maltreatment. Early intervention to decrease the occurrence and impact of these stressors could have long-lasting impacts on this vulnerable population.
生活压力与抑郁和焦虑之间的关系在青少年和成年人中已有充分的描述。此外，研究表明，有儿童期虐待史的青少年和成年人在暴露于压力后比没有这种经历的人更容易患上抑郁和焦虑。然而，受虐待的青春期前儿童发生抑郁和焦虑的风险背后的过程尚不清楚。本研究旨在确定高危青春期前儿童的这些过程。
本研究分析了儿童虐待和忽视纵向研究的数据，并评估了人际和非人际生活压力作为易受虐待或暴露于虐待的儿童（n=1049）中抑郁和焦虑的特定预测因子，以及更普遍的内化症状的预测因子。参与者在儿童早期到中期的六年期间接受了多次评估。
人际生活压力可预测更大的抑郁和焦虑，但是在控制了情绪和行为问题以及儿童的性别、家庭收入和基线时母亲的抑郁症状后，并不预测一般的内化症状。非人际生活压力与抑郁和焦虑或一般内化症状无前瞻性预测关系。
该研究无法确定与受虐待的青春期前儿童的抑郁和焦虑风险最相关的特定类型的人际压力。
这些发现支持了在易受虐待或暴露于虐待的青春期前儿童中筛查抑郁和焦虑风险时人际压力的重要性。早期干预以减少这些压力源的发生和影响可能对这一弱势群体产生持久的影响。
