Childhood trauma and depressive level among non-clinical Chinese college students: the roles of rumination and perceived stress

Abstract

Background: Childhood trauma is one of major risk factors to depression, and the incidence of depression among college students has been increasing. Previous studies have validated the effect of childhood trauma on depressive level. But few studies based on the Diathesis-stress theory to investigate the role of perceived stress in the pathway between childhood trauma and depressive level, as well as considering the role of rumination. Methods: We recruited 995 non-clinical Chinese college students and ask them to finish four self-report questionnaires, including Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the 22-item Ruminative Responses Scale (RSS-22), and Beck Depression Scale-II (BDI-II). Then we conducted the multiple mediation analyses and multiple linear regression analyses. Results: Results revealed that perceived stress played a mediation role between childhood trauma and depressive level, and rumination played a moderation role between childhood trauma and perceived stress and between childhood trauma and depressive level. Limitations: This is a cross-sectional study and based on subjective reports of measures. Conclusions: These findings provided multi-dimensional indications for reducing the effect of childhood trauma on depressive level in college students, which would help them to improve their mental health.

Cognitive factors as mediators of the relationship between childhood trauma and depression symptoms: the mediating roles of cognitive overgeneralisation, rumination, and social problem-solving

“…These studies have shown greater childhood trauma leads to higher levels of depression by increasing rumination. Wang et al ( 2023 ) showed that rumination moderated the relationship between childhood trauma and depression. Mao et al ( 2023 ) demonstrated that rumination partially mediated the effect between childhood trauma and trait depression, suggesting the negative influence of childhood trauma on depression was influenced by ruminative levels.…”