Yumi, Yasumasa, Koki, Go, Shigeru, Takeshi, Hajime, and Makoto (2015) conducted a research exploring the direct and indirect implications that childhood abuse poses on depression. This article explores personality, childhood abuse, and life events in adulthood and their relationship to depression symptoms. Researches carried out in the recent past point out to the fact that childhood abuse poses long-term implication on the mental and physical health of an individual. As an example, childhood abuse has been found to elicit the occurrence of psychiatric diseases such as major depressive disorder.
The study used a cross-sectional analytical study design whereby a comprehensive sample of 113 newly diagnosed major depressive disorder patients aged 25-27 years were enrolled into the study. The study respondents comprised of 55 males and 58 females who had not received any treatment. To establish the causal relationship between the study variables (personality, childhood abuse, and life events in adulthood), Yumi et al. (2015) used Structural Equation Modelling. Using previous studies, Yumi et al., (2015) developed a hypothetical model which considered personality, childhood abuse, and life events in adulthood to have direct and indirect implications on symptoms associated with depression.
The study used various measurement tools. Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II) measured the presence and severity of symptoms aligned with major depressive disorder. Life Experience Survey (LES) measured the negative and positive impacts of recent life events whereby 47 items categorized on 4-point lickert scale from a scale ranging from -3 interpreted and extreme negative implication and -3 interpreted as extremely positive implication. Child Abuse Trauma Scale questionnaire was used to measure the extent of child abuse, whereby scores were categorized on a scale ranging from 0 to 5. A score of 0 indicated that the subject never experienced childhood abuse, and a score of 4 indicated that the subject always experienced childhood abuse.
Findings from Yumi et al. (2015) study indicate that childhood abuse is a positive predictor of major depressive disorder. The study results indicate the co-morbidities that are common amongst people with major depressive disorder. These co-morbidities include agoraphobia, social phobia, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorders. Social phobia is the most occurring co-morbidity, whereas posttraumatic stress disorders are the least occurring. The results do not indicate any gender differences with regards to the occurrence of the above-mentioned co-morbidities.
The study was conducted not without flaws; the study is weakened by the use of Structural Equation Model, which does not offer a viable means of establishing the causal relationship between the study variables. Structural Equation Model is a hypothetical model; hence, not appropriate for use in causal modeling. Nonetheless, the study is strengthened by the fact that it uses measurement tools that have been validated; hence, reliable. As an example, the study used Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), which has been validated by experts in the field of psychiatry. In fact, the current study is the first to explore and report on the association between personality, childhood abuse, and adult life stresses and depression. For future research, studies using causal models as opposed to hypothetical models (such as Structural Equation Model used in this study) are recommended. Such researches are more adequate in assessing the causal association between study variables.
Reference
Yumi H., Yasumasa O., Koki T., Go O., Shigeru T., Takeshi I., Hajime T., Makoto K., & Shigeto Y. (2015). Direct and Indirect Influences of Childhood Abuse on Depression Symptoms in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder. BMC Psychiatry, 15 (244), 1-8.
