Childhood Maltreatment, Pathological Personality Dimensions, and Suicide Risk in Young Adults

Abstract

Several studies have demonstrated that child maltreatment (psychological, physical, and sexual abuse, and neglect) may be a significant factor in the development of pathological personality traits that increase the risk for suicidal ideation and behavior from adolescence to adulthood. Currently, the challenge is to understand how different forms of early negative experiences render an individual prone to develop specific personality traits and, in turn, be more vulnerable to suicide risk. To understand the relationship between childhood maltreatment and personality dimensions in suicide risk, our study aims to explore the role of self-criticism and dependency, two different pathological personality traits, as potential mediators of the link between different types of childhood maltreatment and suicide risk in young adults. For this purpose, 306 students from three Italian public universities were recruited. We used the Italian version of the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Questionnaire (CECA.Q) to assess experiences of lack of care by parents (i.e., antipathy and neglect) as well as psychological and physical abuse before the age of 17 years. The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) was used to assess the personality dimensions of self-criticism and dependency, and the Suicide History Self-Rating Screening Scale was administered to assess suicide risk. Results revealed that lack of care and psychological abuse were significantly associated with suicide risk and this association was partially mediated by the maladaptive personality dimension of self-criticism. These findings suggest that the combined effect of specific forms of dysfunctional parental behavior during childhood and the development of rigid and dysfunctional negative personality traits may increase the risk for suicidal ideation and behavior during adulthood.

The Effect of Parent Psychological Distress on Child Hyperactivity/Inattention During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Testing the Mediation of Parent Verbal Hostility and Child Emotional Symptoms

“…Parenting practices have long been cited as an important risk factor for child externalizing problems ( Prevatt, 2003 ; Marmorstein and Iacono, 2004 ). Specifically, retrospective studies have demonstrated that verbal abuse during childhood is related to externalizing and internalizing disorders in adulthood, such as mood and anxiety disorders, eating disorders, substance abuse disorders, personality disorders, and schizophrenia, as well as to suicide risk ( Carr et al, 2013 ; Falgares et al, 2018 ). In a study of children aged 9–12 years, Donovan and Brassard (2011) showed that maternal verbal aggression was associated with depressive symptoms, delinquency, peer overt and relational victimization, and low self-esteem.…”

Mediation of Internet addiction on association between childhood maltreatment and suicidal behaviours among Chinese adolescents

“…Previous studies have documented that childhood maltreatment (CM) is a significant risk factor for suicidal behaviours (Miller et al ., 2013 ; Behr Gomes Jardim et al ., 2018 ; Angelakis et al ., 2019 , 2020 ). CM refers to acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that results in actual harms or threats of harm to a child under age 18, even if the harm is unintentional (Falgares et al ., 2018 ). In China, a systematic review estimated that the prevalence of core forms of CM among adolescents from high to low was physical abuse (26.6%), neglect (26.0%), emotional abuse (19.6%) and sexual abuse (8.7%) (Fang et al ., 2015 ).…”

Effects of Early Life Stress on Bone Homeostasis in Mice and Humans

“…Strong associations were shown between childhood maltreatment and higher risk for psychological and physiological disorders including depression, hypersensitivity of the neuroendocrine, autonomic and peptidergic stress response leading to altered dynamics of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis, and changes in the neuronal mediators that can influence bone health [36]. Childhood maltreatment is one of the best-documented risk factors for depression [37][38][39][40] and depression, in turn, has been associated with a higher risk for reduced bone mineral density (BMD), osteoporosis and bone fractures [41][42][43][44][45].…”