A new study shows that childhood abuse memories and perceptions have a greater impact on future mental health than actual experiences. Those who remembered abuse or neglect had more episodes of depression and anxiety than those who did not, even with official records of abuse. This highlights the importance of memory recognition in identifying potential mental health problems and providing early intervention.
Research published in JAMAPsychiatry found that how individuals remember and process childhood abuse and neglect has a greater impact on their mental health later in life than the experience itself.
A new study from King’s College London and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN) at the City University of New York was published July 5. JAMAPsychiatryfound that how childhood abuse and neglect are remembered and processed has a greater impact on subsequent mental health than the experience itself. The authors suggest that even in the absence of documented evidence, clinicians can use patients’ self-reported experiences of abuse to identify patients at risk of developing mental health problems and provide early intervention. suggesting that they may be neglecting
Researchers will follow 1,196 participants through the age of 40 to investigate how experiences of childhood abuse and neglect influence the development of emotional disorders in adulthood. A large longitudinal study was conducted.
In this study, even with official court records, adolescents who retrospectively self-reported childhood abuse experiences before age 12 were more likely to experience depression and anxiety over the next decade than those who had no memory of the abuse. It turned out that there were many episodes of
In contrast, participants who had an official record of being abused in childhood but who were unable to retrospectively recall the experience experienced similar numbers of episodes of affective disorder in adulthood as participants without experience of abuse.
Andrea Danese, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at King’s IoPPN and co-author of the study, said: The findings suggest that even in the absence of documented evidence of child abuse, clinicians can use information provided by clients to identify people at higher risk for subsequent mental health problems. is showing. The findings also suggest that early interventions that help address memories of abuse and neglect may prevent later emotional problems. “
Participants were interviewed about their self-reported past experiences of childhood abuse and their current and past mental health. They were then re-interviewed to measure the course of their depression and anxiety symptoms.
Further analysis revealed that the association between self-reported experiences of childhood abuse and numerous subsequent episodes of anxiety and depression was partially influenced by participants’ current and past mental health status reported at the time of the initial interview. was found to be explained in The authors explain that this may be because affective disorders negatively bias memory, making participants more likely to recall negative events.
“If we could better understand how memories of child abuse are maintained and deteriorated over time, and how those memories affect our daily lives, we could develop effective interventions,” Danese said. It could give us new insights into how to do it.”
Reference: Andrea Danese, M.D. and Cathy Spatz-Widham, Ph.D., “Objective and Subjective Experiences of Childhood Abuse and Associations with the Course of Affective Disorders in Adulthood,” 5 July 2023, Available here. JAMAPsychiatry.
DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.2140
This study is a collaboration between expert clinicians from South London and Moseley NHS Foundation Trust and leading academics from King’s College London, aimed at finding new ways to predict, prevent and treat mental health disorders. Part of the Kings Moseley Partnership for Children and Youth, a unique collaboration. in children and adolescents. The partnership will be based at the new Piers Moseley Center, which will be home to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) inpatient and outpatient services and clinical research facilities, and is expected to open in 2024.
The study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute on Substance Abuse, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Justice, Doris・Received support from Duke. The Charitable Foundation, the Medical Research Council, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre, South London, The Moseley NHS Foundation Trust, King’s College, London.
