Childhood Maltreatment Associated with Anxiety and Depression and Complex PTSD Symptoms

Background: Childhood maltreatment has great impact on physical and mental health. This study was designed to investigate the relationship between childhood maltreatment experience, social support, Anxiety and Depression, and traumatic stress symptoms in adults.

Methods: There were 113 subjects aged 20-35 recruited. They filled out self-reported questionnaires, including the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire Short Form (CTQ-SF), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ), Chinese version of the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), to measure symptom severity regarding childhood maltreatment, Anxiety and Depression, post-traumatic stress/complex post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSD/CPTSD), and social support. The symptom severity was compared between maltreatment and non-maltreatment groups. Regression and mediator analyzes were done to investigate the relationship between maltreatment experience, mental impact severity, and the role of social support.

Results: There were 74.3% of participants who had been maltreated as children. Those who experienced maltreatment had more PTSD/CPTSD symptom severity than those who did not. Family support, but not friend support, mediated the relationship between maltreatment and PTSD/CPTSD symptom severity.

Conclusion: Childhood maltreatment was associated with Anxiety and Depression and CPTSD symptom severity in young adults. Future prospective studies are warranted to investigate the role of family support in preventing consequences after maltreatment.

Cite this article as: Wen Zeng Y, Chiu S, Yeh C. Childhood maltreatment associated with Anxiety and Depression and complex PTSD symptoms. Psychiatry Clin Psychopharmacol. 2024;34(3):201-209.