The specificity of childhood adversities and negative life events across the life span to anxiety and depressive disorders

Spinhoven, Philip; Elzinga, Bernet M.; Hovens, Jacqueline G.F.M.; Roelofs, Karin; Zitman, Frans G.; van Oppen, Patricia; Penninx, Brenda W.J.H.

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2010.02.132

« Previous Next »Journal of Affective Disorders
Volume 126, Issue 1 , Pages 103-112, October 2010

The specificity of childhood adversities and negative life events across the life span to anxiety and depressive disorders

Philip Spinhoven
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Corresponding author. Leiden University, Institute of Psychology, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31 71 5273377; fax: +31 71 5274678.
Bernet M. Elzinga
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
Jacqueline G.F.M. Hovens
- Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
Karin Roelofs
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
Frans G. Zitman
- Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
Patricia van Oppen
- Department of Psychiatry/EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Brenda W.J.H. Penninx
- Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry/EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

Received 5 October 2009; received in revised form 24 February 2010; accepted 24 February 2010.

Abstract

Background

Although several studies have shown that life adversities play an important role in the etiology and maintenance of both depressive and anxiety disorders, little is known about the relative specificity of several types of life adversities to different forms of depressive and anxiety disorder and the concurrent role of neuroticism. Few studies have investigated whether clustering of life adversities or comorbidity of psychiatric disorders critically influence these relationships.

Methods

Using data from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA), we analyzed the association of childhood adversities and negative life experiences across the lifespan with lifetime DSM-IV-based diagnoses of depression or anxiety among 2288 participants with at least one affective disorder.

Results

Controlling for comorbidity and clustering of adversities the association of childhood adversity with affective disorders was greater than that of negative life events across the life span with affective disorders. Among childhood adversities, emotional neglect was specifically associated with depressive disorder, dysthymia, and social phobia. Persons with a history of emotional neglect and sexual abuse were more likely to develop more than one lifetime affective disorder. Neuroticism and current affective disorder did not affect the adversity–disorder relationships found.

Limitations

Using a retrospective study design, causal interpretations of the relationships found are not warranted.

Conclusions

Emotional neglect seems to be differentially related to depression, dysthymia and social phobia. This knowledge may help to reduce underestimation of the impact of emotional abuse and lead to better recognition and treatment to prevent long-term disorders.

Keywords: Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, Life events, Neuroticism, Emotional neglect