Abstract
BackgroundChildhood abuse increases risk for high levels of distress in response to future stressors. Interpersonal social support is protective for health, particularly during stress, and may be particularly beneficial for individuals who experienced childhood abuse.ObjectiveInvestigate whether childhood abuse predicts levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and test whether the perceived availability of social companionship preceding the pandemic moderates this relationship.MethodsDuring Phase 1, adults (N = 120; Age M[SD] = 19.4 [0.94]) completed a retrospective measure of childhood adversity along with a measure of perceived availability of opportunities for social engagement immediately preceding the pandemic. Two weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic declaration, participants completed the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) with respect to the pandemic. Hierarchical linear regression analyses examined the interaction between childhood abuse and the perceived availability of social companionship preceding the pandemic as a predictor of PTSD symptoms.ResultsAdjusting for covariates, the interaction between childhood abuse and perceived availability of others to engage with before the onset of the pandemic was a significant predictor of IES-hyperarousal (β = −0.19, t = −2.06, p = 0.04, ΔR2 = 0.032, CI: [−0.31 to −0.01]).ConclusionLevels of perceived opportunities for social companionship before the pandemic associates with levels of hyperarousal related to the pandemic, particularly for individuals who experienced high levels of childhood abuse. More research is needed to understand how to mitigate the higher levels of distress related to the pandemic for these individuals in order to reduce risk for future psychiatric disorders.
Highlights
A robust body of work highlights the long lasting implications of childhood abuse for health-relevant behaviors and outcomes into adulthood (e.g., Springer et al, 2003; Maniglio, 2009; De Bellis and Zisk, 2014; Beilharz et al, 2020)
In veterans, reports of childhood abuse were higher in veterans with combat related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared to rates of PTSD in veterans who did not have combat-related PTSD, a relationship that was independent of levels of combat exposure (Bremner et al, 1993)
A separate investigation found that childhood abuse changes psychological responses to future trauma, with greater reports of childhood abuse associating with higher levels of shame following the experience of a violent crime (Andrews et al, 2000)
Summary
A robust body of work highlights the long lasting implications of childhood abuse for health-relevant behaviors and outcomes into adulthood (e.g., Springer et al, 2003; Maniglio, 2009; De Bellis and Zisk, 2014; Beilharz et al, 2020). While it is well known that a single stressor or stressful event can produce an ongoing cascade of event-related pathology, stressful events impact individuals differently (Lewis, 1992; Meaney et al, 1993; Bowman, 1997; Kirschbaum et al, 2008). A separate investigation found that childhood abuse changes psychological responses to future trauma, with greater reports of childhood abuse associating with higher levels of shame following the experience of a violent crime (Andrews et al, 2000). Together these findings provide compelling evidence that the experience of childhood abuse shapes the way in which individuals respond to future traumas or stressors. Interpersonal social support is protective for health, during stress, and may be beneficial for individuals who experienced childhood abuse
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