Hovens JGFM, Giltay EJ, Wiersma JE, Spinhoven P, Penninx BWJH, Zitman FG. Impact of childhood life events and trauma on the course of depressive and anxiety disorders. Objective: Data on the... Show moreHovens JGFM, Giltay EJ, Wiersma JE, Spinhoven P, Penninx BWJH, Zitman FG. Impact of childhood life events and trauma on the course of depressive and anxiety disorders. Objective: Data on the impact of childhood life events and childhood trauma on the clinical course of depressive and anxiety disorders are limited. Method: Longitudinal data were collected from 1209 adult participants in the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA). Childhood life events and trauma at baseline were assessed with a semi-structured interview and the clinical course after 2 years with a DSM-IV-based diagnostic interview and Life Chart Interview. Results: At baseline, 18.4% reported at least one childhood life event and 57.8% any childhood trauma. Childhood life events were not predictive of any measures of course trajectory. Emotional neglect, psychological and physical abuse, but not sexual abuse, were associated with persistence of both depressive and comorbid anxiety and depressive disorder at follow-up. Emotional neglect and psychological abuse were associated with a higher occurrence of a chronic course. Poor course outcomes were mediated mainly through a higher baseline severity of depressive symptoms. Conclusion: Childhood trauma, but not childhood life events, was associated with an increased persistence of comorbidity and chronicity in adults with anxiety and/or depressive disorders. More unfavourable clinical characteristics at baseline mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and a poorer course of depressive and anxiety disorders. Show less
Wiersma, J.E.; Oppen, P. van; Schaik, D.J.F. van; Does, A.J.W. van der; Beekman, A.T.E.; Penninx, B.W.J.H. 2011
Objective: To investigate the association between childhood life events, childhood trauma and the presence of anxiety, depressive or comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders in adulthood. Method:... Show moreObjective: To investigate the association between childhood life events, childhood trauma and the presence of anxiety, depressive or comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders in adulthood. Method: Data are from 1931 adult participants in the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA). Childhood life events included divorce of parents, early parental loss and 'placed in care', whereas childhood trauma was assessed as experienced emotional neglect, psychological, physical and sexual abuse prior to age 16. Results: Childhood life events were not associated with psychopathology, except for 'placed in care' in the comorbid group. All types of childhood trauma were increasingly prevalent in the following order: controls, anxiety, depression, and comorbid group (P < 0.001). The higher the score was on the childhood trauma index, the stronger the association with psychopathology (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Childhood trauma rather than childhood life events are related to anxiety and depressive disorders. The strong associations with the comorbid group suggest that childhood trauma contributes to the severity of psychopathology. Our study underscores the importance of heightened awareness of the possible presence of childhood trauma, especially in adult patients with comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders. Show less
