Montanari Silvia, Terenzi Beatrice, Spera Maria Chiara, Donofrio Guglielmo, Chieffo Daniela P R, Monti Laura, Kotzalidis Georgios D, Sani Gabriele, Janiri Delfina
Department of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, Italy.
Clinical Psychology Unit, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Largo Agostino Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy; Department Women Children and Public Health, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Largo Agostino Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy.
J Affect Disord. 2025 Feb 1;370:385-391. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.11.013. Epub 2024 Nov 7.
Childhood trauma is a significant environmental stressor linked to mood disorder. It can affect not only the individuals directly involved but also the next generation through the intergenerational transmission of trauma. This study aimed to investigate, for the first time, the co-occurrence of childhood trauma in youths with mood disorders and their parents.
We assessed 443 individuals, 100 youths with DSM-5 mood disorders, 100 youths healthy controls (HCs), 92 s' parents and 161 adult HCs. History of childhood trauma was obtained using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). The distribution patterns of childhood trauma subtypes was estimated through a multivariate model. Intraclass correlations (ICC) were calculated to account for the familial clustering of the sample.
We found significantly higher scores for Patients as compared to Young-HC in all the subtypes of childhood trauma (p < 0.05). Considering Parents and Adult-HC groups, Physical abuse (p = 0.001) and Emotional neglect showed higher scores in Parents (p < 0.001). Regarding the familial clustering of the sample, emotional (p < 0.001) and sexual abuse (p = 0.001), and emotional (p = 0.3) and physical neglect (p = 0.003) showed statistical significance, but only emotional abuse reveled a medium level ICC (0.25).
Our study highlights the effect of intergenerational transmission of childhood trauma on the diagnosis of mood disorders in youths. Our findings underscore the significance of systematically assessing childhood trauma, in particular emotional abuse, in youths with mood disorders and their parents. Additionally, there is urgent need for evidence-based preventive measures aimed at promoting positive parenting strategies and emotionally supportive environments for children.
童年创伤是一种与情绪障碍相关的重要环境应激源。它不仅会影响直接受影响的个体，还会通过创伤的代际传递影响下一代。本研究旨在首次调查患有情绪障碍的青少年及其父母童年创伤的共现情况。
我们评估了443名个体，其中100名患有DSM-5情绪障碍的青少年、100名健康青少年对照（HCs）、92名青少年的父母以及161名成年HCs。使用儿童创伤问卷（CTQ）获取童年创伤史。通过多变量模型估计童年创伤亚型的分布模式。计算组内相关系数（ICC）以考虑样本的家族聚集性。
我们发现，在童年创伤的所有亚型中，患者的得分显著高于青少年HC（p < 0.05）。在父母组和成年HC组中，身体虐待（p = 0.001）和情感忽视在父母组中的得分更高（p < 0.001）。关于样本的家族聚集性，情感虐待（p < 0.001）和性虐待（p = 0.001），以及情感忽视（p = 0.3）和身体忽视（p = 0.003）具有统计学意义，但只有情感虐待显示出中等水平的ICC（0.25）。
我们的研究强调了童年创伤的代际传递对青少年情绪障碍诊断的影响。我们的研究结果强调了在患有情绪障碍的青少年及其父母中系统评估童年创伤，特别是情感虐待的重要性。此外，迫切需要基于证据的预防措施，旨在促进积极的育儿策略和为儿童提供情感支持的环境。
