Elucidating the relation between childhood emotional abuse and depressive symptoms in adulthood: The mediating role of maladaptive interpersonal processes

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study is to assess the potential unique and relative mediating effects of three interpersonal risk factors (i.e., excessive reassurance-seeking [ERS], negative feedback seeking [NFS], and rejection sensitivity [RS]) in the relationship between childhood emotional abuse (CEA) and depressive symptoms.MethodOne hundred eighty-five undergraduates were followed over a four-month interval. Participants completed assessments of childhood abuse history, ERS, NFS, and RS, and depressive symptoms at baseline, as well as depressive symptoms at four-month followup.ResultsFindings from single-mediator analyses indicated that RS and NFS, but not ERS, mediated the relationship between CEA and prospective depressive symptoms, after accounting for childhood sexual and physical abuse, as well as baseline depressive symptoms. In our multi-mediator model, only RS remained a significant mediator of the relationship between CEA and prospective depressive symptoms.ConclusionsThe current study provides preliminary evidence that negative behavioral styles may function as a mechanism linking prior experiences of CEA to subsequent depressive symptoms. Clinical implications of these findings suggest that targeting maladaptive behavioral tendencies, particularly RS, may be an effective adjunct in behavioral modification treatments of CEA victims at risk for depression.