Specific early maladaptive schemas differentially mediate the relations of emotional and sexual maltreatment to recent life events in youth with depression

Abstract

The current study provided a novel investigation of relations among particular types of childhood maltreatment (emotional vs. physical vs. sexual maltreatment), specific cognitive schema themes and the generation of dependent versus independent life events. Participants included 227 adolescents and emerging adults (74% female; aged 12–29) in a current episode of a unipolar depressive disorder drawn from three archival cross‐sectional studies. Childhood maltreatment and life events from the past 6 months were assessed using detailed contextual interviews with independent, standardized ratings. Emotional maltreatment was uniquely associated with schema themes of emotional deprivation and subjugation, and sexual maltreatment was uniquely associated with schema themes of abandonment, vulnerability and dependence/incompetence. Further, subjugation and abandonment cross‐sectionally mediated the relations of emotional and sexual maltreatment, respectively, to greater dependent, but not independent, life events. Physical maltreatment was not associated with cognitive schemas or recent life events after accounting for its overlap with emotional and sexual maltreatment. Results suggest targets for cognitive intervention that may improve outcomes for youth with specific histories of emotional and sexual maltreatment.

Sexual, Physical, and Emotional Maltreatment in Childhood Are Differentially Associated With Sexual and Physical Revictimization in Adulthood

“…Betrayal theory proposes that, while potentially adaptive in the abusive childhood context, in adulthood the “scars” left by maltreatment raise women’s likelihood of being exposed to environments in which violence is likely to reoccur. These scars can be cognitive (e.g., core beliefs of abandonment and dependency; Zheng et al, 2022 ), emotional (e.g., enduring guilt and shame; Freyd et al, 2007 ), and even neurobiological (e.g., neurohormonal, epigenetic, and functional/structural changes; Nemeroff, 2016 ). Together, such negative sequelae of maltreatment are theorized to promote maladaptive behaviors, such as drug use and risky sexual behavior, which raise risk for sexual revictimization ( Gobin & Freyd, 2009 ).…”

Childhood adversity, stressful life events, and trauma.

“…Of prime relevance to cognitive therapy, childhood maltreatment is significantly associated with the development of negative cognitive schemas, particularly with themes of emotional deprivation and dependency, and a more tightly consolidated negative schema structure (Lumley & Harkness, 2009). Both negative cognitive content and structure significantly mediate the relation of childhood maltreatment to interpersonal stress generation (Zheng et al, 2022).…”