Abstract
Child maltreatment and sleep disturbances are particularly prevalent among individuals with a history of depression. However, the precise relation between child maltreatment and sleep within this population is unclear. The present study evaluated childhood maltreatment and trauma as a predictor of sleep duration and insomnia symptoms among young adults with prior depression. A total of 102 young adults (18–22; 78% female) with a history of clinical or subclinical depression completed an in-person visit with diagnostic interviews and questionnaires of childhood trauma (maltreatment and general trauma), and 2 weeks of daily assessments of sleep and depressive symptoms using internet-capable devices. Using multilevel modeling, we found that only childhood emotional neglect significantly predicted higher levels of insomnia symptoms over the 2 weeks, controlling for daily depression. Neither childhood maltreatment nor trauma predicted sleep duration. Our findings highlight a unique relationship between emotional neglect and insomnia symptoms among individuals with a depression history that, given prior research, may potentially play a role in depression recurrence and represent a potential treatment target.
Highlights
Childhood trauma is highly prevalent in depression, with over half of individuals with depression endorsing childhood abuse and neglect [1]
We found that women were more likely to report childhood sexual abuse than men (t = 2.33, p = 0.01), but there were no other differences on other trauma types or sleep
Research has consistently linked childhood trauma with depression and, more recently, sleep in adulthood [12, 13], this is the first study to evaluate the relationship between specific subtypes of childhood trauma and sleep in young adulthood among individuals with a depression history
Summary
Childhood trauma is highly prevalent in depression, with over half of individuals with depression endorsing childhood abuse and neglect [1]. Given the increased risk of chronic, recurrent depression among those exposed to childhood maltreatment, it is critical to identify potential mechanisms through which childhood maltreatment, emotional abuse and neglect, may confer risk for future depression. Emotional neglect, is associated with both sleep and depression, it remains unclear to what extent childhood trauma contributes to current sleep (duration and insomnia) among clinical populations (e.g., among young adults with a depression history), which may provide valuable information for intervention. As an initial step along this line of empirical inquiry, the present study evaluated the effects of childhood maltreatment on current sleep among young adults with a history of depression We evaluated both childhood maltreatment (emotional abuse, emotional neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse) and general childhood trauma as predictors of sleep duration and insomnia symptoms reported over 2week daily assessments. We expected that emotional abuse and neglect would be the most robust prospective predictors of sleep disturbance (duration, insomnia symptoms), after controlling for current depressive and anxiety symptoms
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