Abstract
Background: There is substantial evidence that traumatic experiences in childhood increase the likelihood of mood pathology and addictive behaviors in adolescence and young adulthood. Furthermore, both forms of psychopathology have been linked to deficiencies in personality organization and a common primary emotion core. In this study, we intended to further investigate these interactions by assuming a mediating role of personality organization and despair regarding the relationship between childhood trauma and psychiatric symptom burden later in life.Methods: A total sample of 500 young adults (Age: M = 26; SD = 5.51; 63.2% female) were investigated. Structural Equation Modeling was applied in order to investigate the pathways between the latent variables Childhood Trauma, Structural Deficit, Despair (comprised of the primary emotions SEEKING and SADNESS), as well as symptoms of addiction and depression.Results: The results indicate that the influence of Childhood Trauma on Addictive Behaviors was mediated by Structural Deficit (p < 0.01), whereas its influence on Depressive Symptoms was mediated by Despair (decreased SEEKING and increased SADNESS) (p < 0.01). Furthermore, Addictive Behaviors seemed to be stronger represented in males (p < 0.001). The final model was able to explain 39% of the variance of Addictive Behaviors and 85% of the variance of Depressive Symptoms.Discussion: The findings underline the importance of early experiences in the development of adult affective and personality functioning, which is linked to the development of psychiatric disorders. Regarding clinical practice, addiction treatment might focus on the improvement of personality organization, while treatment of depressed patients should primarily emphasize the restructuring of dysfunctional primary emotion dispositions.
Highlights
The experience of childhood trauma has been discussed as a strong risk-factor for later psychopathology since the end of the Nineteenth century [1, 2]
The majority of these participants were diagnosed with depression (n = 129; 69%), while 9 (5%) participants stated they had been diagnosed with a form of Substance use disorders (SUD)
Our results suggest that the putative link between childhood trauma and depression is mediated by a primary emotion disposition toward decreased SEEKING and increased SADNESS, while its association with addictive behaviors is mediated by deficits within personality organization
Summary
The experience of childhood trauma has been discussed as a strong risk-factor for later psychopathology since the end of the Nineteenth century [1, 2]. Recent studies by Schimmenti [15] and Granieri et al [16] observed that the link between childhood trauma, adult life psychopathology and personality dysfunction is partially mediated by dissociation. This particular emotional regulation strategy presents a serious obstacle in the functional development of the brain-mind and is considered a primitive defense style related to splitting mechanisms and fragmentation of the self [17]. There is substantial evidence that traumatic experiences in childhood increase the likelihood of mood pathology and addictive behaviors in adolescence and young adulthood Both forms of psychopathology have been linked to deficiencies in personality organization and a common primary emotion core. We intended to further investigate these interactions by assuming a mediating role of personality organization and despair regarding the relationship between childhood trauma and psychiatric symptom burden later in life
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
