Anxiety and Depression Symptoms among Youth Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Network Analysis

Abstract

Background Previous studies have frequently reported a high prevalence of co-occurring anxiety and depression among people who experienced stressful events in childhood. However, few have noted the symptomatic relationship of this comorbidity among childhood sexual abuse (CSA) survivors. Therefore, this study’s objectives were as follows: (1) to examine the relationship across symptoms between anxiety and depression among CSA survivors; (2) to compare differences between male and female network structures among CSA survivors. Methods A total of 63 Universities and Colleges in Jilin Province, China, covered 96,218 participants in this study, a sub-set data of which met the criteria of CSA was analyzed with the network analysis. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF), measured CSA. Anxiety was measured by the seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), and depression was measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The sex difference between anxiety and depression among CSA survivors was compared. Results 3,479 college students reported the experience of CSA (CTQ-SF total scores ≥ 8), with a prevalence of 3.62% (95% CI: 3.50–3.73%). Among CSA survivors, control worry, sad mood, and energy were central and bridge symptoms of the anxiety and depression network. Meanwhile, male CSA survivors appeared to have a stronger correlation between guilt and suicide, but female CSA survivors seemed to have a stronger correlation between control worry and suicide. Moreover, the edge of control worry-relax-afraid was stronger in the male network, while the edge of restless-relax was stronger in the female network. Conclusion Control worry, sad mood, and energy are crucial to offer targeted treatment and to relieve anxiety and depression symptoms for CSA survivors. Guilt needs more attention for male CSA survivors, while control worry remains more important for female CSA survivors to reduce suicidal ideation and suicide attempts.

Network analysis of depression and anxiety symptoms and their associations with life satisfaction among Chinese hypertensive older adults: a cross-sectional study

“…Separate network analysis studies of older adults during the COVID-19 epidemic ( 42 ) and a Chinese population of older adults with disabilities ( 19 ) confirmed that GAD1 is the most critical bridge symptom connecting the two communities of depression and anxiety ( 19 , 42 ). However, the results were not the same as the core bridge symptom results from the adolescent and adult depression-anxiety network analysis studies ( 20 , 43 ). The central bridge symptoms of depression and anxiety network may vary among different age demographics, requiring target-specific analysis of samples with distinct characteristics.…”

Molecular Changes Associated with Suicide

“…Different mediators and moderators of the association between childhood abuse and/or neglect and suicide behavior have been analyzed. They include age [78,86], gender [83,84], the presence of a psychiatric [89] or substance use [90], comorbidity, the characteristics of the abuser and the maltreatment experience, perceived social support and specific psychopathological symptoms such as impulsivity, dissociation, personality dysfunction, emotional dysregulation, depression, uncontrollable worry, low self-esteem, a sense of hopelessness, and feelings of worthlessness and guilt [90][91][92].…”