Tao Yuanmei, Fan Huanhuan, Wang Min, Yan Yushun, Dou Yikai, Zhao Liansheng, Ni Rongjun, Wei Jinxue, Yang Xiao, Ma Xiaohong
Mental Health Center, Institute of Psychiatry, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Guoxue Alley 37, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China.
BMC Psychiatry. 2025 Apr 4;25(1):334. doi: 10.1186/s12888-025-06793-5.
Childhood trauma is strongly linked to anxiety and depression, significantly increasing the risk of negative outcomes in adulthood. This study employed network analysis to investigate the complex interplay of anxiety and depression symptoms among Chinese college students, focusing on identifying the core symptoms most directly affected by childhood trauma and those exerting the greatest influence on others.
Data were collected from December 2020 to January 2021 from 2,266 college students at 16 institutions in southwestern and eastern coastal China. Depression, anxiety, and childhood trauma were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-28, respectively. Separate symptom networks were constructed for participants with and without childhood trauma experiences. Central indices were employed to identify the central symptom within each network. The accuracy and stability of the networks were then evaluated. Finally, a network comparison test was used to analyze differences in network properties between the trauma and non-trauma groups.
Loss of Energy and Worry too much were the central symptoms in the non-trauma group, while anhedonia and nervousness were the central symptoms in the trauma group. There was a significant difference in the global strength of the network between the trauma group and the non-trauma group (p< 0.01), but no significant difference in the distribution of edge weights between the two networks (p =0.14). Anhedonia, Suicide ideation and Feeling afraid in the trauma group showed increased network centrality compared with the non-trauma group.
This study demonstrates the profound impact of childhood trauma on the central symptoms of anxiety and depression in college students. Further research is warranted to investigate the specific pathways through which these symptoms develop, with the goal of developing targeted interventions for this vulnerable population.
童年创伤与焦虑和抑郁密切相关，显著增加了成年后出现负面结果的风险。本研究采用网络分析方法，调查中国大学生焦虑和抑郁症状之间的复杂相互作用，重点识别受童年创伤直接影响最大的核心症状以及对其他症状影响最大的症状。
于2020年12月至2021年1月收集了来自中国西南部和东部沿海地区16所院校的2266名大学生的数据。分别使用患者健康问卷-9、广泛性焦虑障碍量表-7和儿童创伤问卷-28评估抑郁、焦虑和童年创伤情况。为有和没有童年创伤经历的参与者分别构建症状网络。采用中心性指标识别每个网络中的中心症状。然后评估网络的准确性和稳定性。最后，使用网络比较测试分析创伤组和非创伤组之间网络属性的差异。
非创伤组的核心症状是精力丧失和过度担忧，而创伤组的核心症状是快感缺失和紧张不安。创伤组和非创伤组之间网络的全局强度存在显著差异（p<0.01），但两个网络的边权重分布没有显著差异（p =0.14）。与非创伤组相比，创伤组的快感缺失、自杀观念和害怕等症状的网络中心性增加。
本研究证明了童年创伤对大学生焦虑和抑郁核心症状的深远影响。有必要进一步研究这些症状发展的具体途径，以便为这一脆弱群体制定有针对性的干预措施。
