Associations Between Child Maltreatment and Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese College Students: An Analysis of Sex Differences

Chen, Xiaoliang; Zhang, Sheng; Huang, Guoliang; Xu, Yan; Li, Qian; Shi, Juan; Li, Wenyan; Wang, Wanxin; Guo, Lan; Lu, Ciyong

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.656646

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…A dichotomous variable of any childhood maltreatment was classified based on previous work (Chen et al, 2021 ): participants either experienced childhood maltreatment (i.e. participants reported at least moderate to severe cutoff scores in one of the subscales of CTQ) or did not experience childhood maltreatment (i.e.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cumulative stressful events and mental health in young adults after 10 years of Wenchuan earthquake: the role of social support

Chen

Wang

Liu

et al. 2023

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

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Background: After a natural disaster, stressful events often continue to accumulate, affecting individuals in a different manner than the original disaster never occurred. However, few studies have examined these associations, the cumulative impacts of stressful events on mental health outcomes, and the role of social support. This study examined the prospective association between cumulative stressful events and mental health problems and the role of social support in young adults. Methods: 695 participants provided available data on earthquake exposure, childhood maltreatment, other negative life events, and social support at baseline. Depressive symptoms and posttraumatic stress disorder were assessed at baseline and 10 years after the earthquake (T 10y ). A cumulative stressful events index was used to evaluate the levels of cumulative stressful events. Linear regressions were used to explore the predictive effects. Results: Of 695 participants, 41.3%, 28.5%, and 7.9% reported one, two, and three stressful events, respectively. The associations between cumulative stressful events and mental health problems at T 10y presented a dose–response pattern: those who experienced three events had the highest risk of mental health problems, followed by those who experienced two events and those who reported one event. Additionally, higher social support partially reduced the negative impact of cumulative stressful events on mental health. Conclusions: Cumulative stressful events are associated with mental health problems 10 years later in young earthquake survivors. Social support could reduce the negative impact, but its protective role disappears when stressful events accumulate at the highest level. These findings highlight the importance of assessing the cumulative impacts of stressful events and social support available to young disaster survivors and intervening to prevent worse mental health outcomes.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cumulative stressful events and mental health in young adults after 10 years of Wenchuan earthquake: the role of social support

Chen

Wang

Liu

et al. 2023

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

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“…This may be related to the individual and the exposure to different levels of CSA severity. In addition, a large study in China suggested a dose‒response relationship between the types of child abuse experienced and mental health [ 27 ]. It is evident that adverse childhood experiences are associated with mental health and are also likely to influence individual behaviour.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If different levels of CSA severity affect premarital sex, are there sex differences in the effects? Only one study discovered that sex modifies the effects of CSA on health, implying that the effect of child maltreatment on the risk of depressive symptoms in college students is moderated by sex, with a greater effect in females than males [ 27 ]. However, it is unclear whether sex modifies the effect of CSA severity on premarital sex.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex differences in the association of childhood sexual abuse severity with premarital sex among Chinese college students in Luzhou, China

Rong,

Jing,

Lin

et al. 2024

BMC Public Health

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Purpose The adverse health consequences of premarital sex and childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are both global public health problems. Based on a random sample of college students from a Chinese city, this study investigated the relationship between CSA severity and premarital sex among students, focusing on sex differences. Methods A total of 2722 college students from 4 schools in Luzhou were recruited by multistage random sampling. Self-administered questionnaires were used to measure CSA experiences and premarital sex. Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to analyse the relationship between CSA and premarital sex. Results The prevalence of CSA was 9.39%, and that of mild, moderate and severe CSA was 4.04%, 2.90% and 2.46%, respectively. The premarital sex reporting rate was 22.42%. After adjusting for confounding variables, CSA was positively associated with premarital sex. Notably, a cumulative effect of CSA on premarital sex was observed among students. Further stratification analyses showed that males who experienced CSA had a higher premarital sex rate than females, and this sex difference was also observed among students with different CSA severities. Conclusion CSA and its severity were associated with premarital sex among college students. Furthermore, this association was stronger for males than females. Therefore, it is important to emphasize CSA prevention, especially for boys. These findings can promote understanding of the effects of CSA on premarital sex, and CSA prevention and intervention strategies should consider CSA severity and sex differences.

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“…In a meta-analysis of 32 studies, the pooled prevalence of childhood maltreatment among college students in China was 64.7% (95% CI: 52.3-75.6%) [ 13 ]. Exposure to childhood maltreatment may further increase severe mental health problems, including depression and anxiety symptoms, in early adulthood [ 14 – 16 ]. One study suggests that if childhood maltreatment were reduced by 10–25%, between 31.4 million and 80.3 million cases of depression and anxiety could potentially be prevented worldwide [ 17 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender-based differences in interaction effects between childhood maltreatment and problematic mobile phone use on college students’ depression and anxiety symptoms

Zhang

et al. 2023

BMC Psychiatry

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Background Childhood maltreatment and problematic mobile phone use are risk factors for depression and anxiety symptoms among college students. However, how the interaction between the two factors affects depression and anxiety has yet to be validated. This study aimed to investigate the independent and interaction effects of childhood maltreatment and problematic mobile phone use on depression and anxiety among college students and explored gender-based differences in these associations. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted from October to December 2019. We collected data from 7623 students at two colleges in Hefei and Anqing cities in Anhui Province, China. Multinomial logistic regression models were performed to explore the associations of childhood maltreatment and problematic mobile phone use with depression and anxiety symptoms and their interaction effects on depression and anxiety symptoms. Results Childhood maltreatment and problematic mobile phone use were significantly associated with increased risk of depression and anxiety symptoms (P < 0.001). Moreover, following adjustments for covariates, there was a multiplicative interaction between childhood maltreatment and problematic mobile phone use on depression and anxiety symptoms (P < 0.001). Gender-based differences were also observed in the associations. For instance, depression was more common in males and male students with childhood maltreatment were at higher risk of depression-only symptoms. Conclusion Focusing on childhood maltreatment and problematic mobile phone use could facilitate a reduction in the occurrence of depression and anxiety symptoms in college students. Furthermore, it is necessary to develop gender-targeted intervention strategies.

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Associations Between Child Maltreatment and Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese College Students: An Analysis of Sex Differences

Cited by 8 publications

References 60 publications

Cumulative stressful events and mental health in young adults after 10 years of Wenchuan earthquake: the role of social support

Cumulative stressful events and mental health in young adults after 10 years of Wenchuan earthquake: the role of social support

Sex differences in the association of childhood sexual abuse severity with premarital sex among Chinese college students in Luzhou, China

Gender-based differences in interaction effects between childhood maltreatment and problematic mobile phone use on college students’ depression and anxiety symptoms

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