Lee Kyung Hwa, Park Mijeong, Shin Jiyoon, Lee Jung, Yoo Jae Hyun, Chun Jeeyoung, Kim Jae-Won
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Department of Psychiatry, SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2025 May 14. doi: 10.1007/s00787-025-02737-2.
Given its vicious cycle of victimization, early life adversity (ELA) in childhood may be associated with peer victimization during adolescence. Both ELA and peer victimization have been suggested to be major risk factors for depression. Volumetric alterations in the hippocampus implicated in stress sensitivity have been reported in individuals with ELA and peer victimization. This cross-sectional study examined the moderating role of hippocampal volume in the association between ELA and peer victimization in adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD). The sample included 78 adolescents with MDD (age M (SD) = 14.92 (1.54) years, 56 females). The Early Trauma Inventory-Short Form and Peer Victimization Scale were used to assess participants' ELA and peer victimization, respectively. High-resolution structural T1 images were obtained using a Siemens 3T magnetic resonance scanner. Whole hippocampal volumes were segmented and calculated using the FreeSurfer 6.0. Correlation and moderation analyses were also performed. Emotional abuse, a type of ELA, was significantly correlated with peer victimization after controlling for age and sex. The association between emotional abuse and peer victimization was moderated by bilateral hippocampal volume in adolescents with MDD after controlling for age, sex, and intracranial volume. Additionally, the association between emotional abuse and peer victimization was stronger when the bilateral hippocampal volumes were larger. Our findings partially supported the concept of a vicious cycle of victimization, which may be a critical aspect of depression in adolescents. Furthermore, the moderation results suggested that hippocampal volume plays an important role in the victimization cycle in adolescents with MDD.
鉴于童年期早期生活逆境（ELA）存在受害的恶性循环，其可能与青少年期的同伴受害有关。ELA和同伴受害均被认为是抑郁症的主要风险因素。在经历ELA和同伴受害的个体中，已报告海马体的体积变化与应激敏感性有关。这项横断面研究探讨了海马体体积在重度抑郁症（MDD）青少年的ELA与同伴受害之间的关联中所起的调节作用。样本包括78名患有MDD的青少年（年龄M（标准差）=14.92（1.54）岁，56名女性）。分别使用早期创伤问卷简表和同伴受害量表来评估参与者的ELA和同伴受害情况。使用西门子3T磁共振扫描仪获取高分辨率结构T1图像。使用FreeSurfer 6.0对整个海马体体积进行分割和计算。还进行了相关性和调节分析。在控制年龄和性别后，作为ELA一种类型的情感虐待与同伴受害显著相关。在控制年龄、性别和颅内体积后，MDD青少年双侧海马体体积调节了情感虐待与同伴受害之间的关联。此外，当双侧海马体体积较大时，情感虐待与同伴受害之间的关联更强。我们的研究结果部分支持了受害恶性循环的概念，这可能是青少年抑郁症的一个关键方面。此外，调节结果表明海马体体积在患有MDD的青少年的受害循环中起重要作用。
