Childhood Neglect and Psychological Distress Among Pregnant Women: The Chain Multiple Mediation Effect of Perceived Social Support and Positive Coping.

This study aimed to investigate the association between childhood neglect and psychological distress in pregnant women and to assess whether perceived social support and coping styles mediated this association. Pregnant women (N = 276) recruited from the prenatal clinic of a comprehensive hospital in China participated in this study. Participants reported their experiences of childhood neglect and abuse, depression, anxiety, perceived social support, and coping styles. Childhood neglect was positively associated with psychological distress. Perceived social support mediated the relationship between childhood neglect and psychological distress. Perceived social support and positive coping acted as chain mediators between childhood neglect and psychological distress. Childhood neglect is a risk factor for psychological distress during pregnancy independent of childhood abuse; perceived social support and positive coping can influence this relationship.

Effect of the interaction between oxytocin receptor gene polymorphism (rs53576) and stressful life events on aggression in Chinese Han adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: Accumulating evidence suggests that stressful life events are associated with increased risk for aggressive behavior in adolescents; however, aggressive reactions to life stressors exhibit large individual differences. The present study sought to examine whether the interaction between a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP [rs53576]) within the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) and stressful life events is related to aggression in Chinese Han adolescents. METHODS: A total of 197 Chinese Han adolescents (14-17 years of age) were included in this study. Aggression was assessed using the 12-item short version of Buss and Perry Aggression Questionnaire. Stressful life events during the past 12 months were assessed using the Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist. Genomic DNA was extracted from saliva and buccal cells from each individual. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis of variance yielded a significant interaction between OXTR rs53576 SNP and life stress (F = 2.449, p = 0.043, partial η2 = 0.051) and of sex × SNP × life stress (F = 3.144, p = 0.016, partial η2 = 0.064). High life stress during the past 12 months was associated with high levels of physical aggression and hostility in OXTR rs53576 homozygous AA adolescents but not in G-carrier adolescents. In boys, homozygous AA individuals in the high life stress group reported significantly higher levels of physical aggression than participants in the other three groups; the interaction, however, was not significant in girls. CONCLUSIONS: This study, which analyzed a specific gene-environment interaction, demonstrated that AA OXTR rs53576 homozygosity may correlate with higher levels of aggression under high life stress conditions with a sample of healthy Chinese Han adolescents. These findings promote the etiological understanding of adolescent aggression, highlighting the complex effect of stressful life events on aggression, and adding evidence supporting the relationship between the oxytocin system and aggressive behavior in adolescents.

Test of the stress sensitization model in adolescents following the pipeline explosion.

PURPOSE: The stress sensitization model states that early traumatic experiences increase vulnerability to the adverse effects of subsequent stressful life events. This study examined the effect of stress sensitization on development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in Chinese adolescents who experienced the pipeline explosion. METHODS: A total of 670 participants completed self-administered questionnaires on demographic characteristics and degree of explosion exposure, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C). Associations among the variables were explored using MANOVA, and main effects and interactions were analyzed. RESULTS: Overall MANOVA tests with the PCL-C indicated significant differences for gender (F=6.86, p=.000), emotional abuse (F=6.79, p=.000), and explosion exposure (F=22.40, p=.000). There were significant interactions between emotional abuse and explosion exposure (F=3.98, p=.008) and gender and explosion exposure (F=2.93, p=.033). CONCLUSIONS: Being female, childhood emotional abuse, and a high explosion exposure were associated with high PTSD symptom levels. Childhood emotional abuse moderated the effect of explosion exposure on PTSD symptoms. Thus, stress sensitization influenced the development of PTSD symptoms in Chinese adolescents who experienced the pipeline explosion as predicted by the model.

Effect of the interplay between trauma severity and trait neuroticism on posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among adolescents exposed to a pipeline explosion.

BACKGROUND: While numerous studies have explored relevant factors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, there have been few joint investigations of trauma severity and trait neuroticism on the development of PTSD symptoms. This study aims to assess the involvement and interrelationship of trauma severity and neuroticism in the expression of PTSD symptoms among adolescents exposed to an accidental explosion. METHODS: Six hundred and sixty-two adolescents were recruited from a junior middle school closest to the 2013 pipeline explosion site in China and were assessed using the Explosion Exposure Questionnaire, the NEO Five Factor Inventory-Neuroticism Subscale (FFI-N), and the PTSD Checklist-Civilian (PCL-C). A battery of hierarchical multiple regression analyses and two-way ANOVAs were performed to examine the effect of trauma severity and trait neuroticism on adolescent PTSD symptoms. RESULTS: Eighty-seven adolescents (13.1%) showed PTSD symptoms after the pipeline explosion. Correlation analysis showed that all the factors of explosion exposure and trait neuroticism were positively associated with adolescent PTSD symptoms. Being male and younger was linked to lower risk for PTSD symptoms. The regression models identified explosion exposure and neuroticism as independent risk factors for PTSD symptoms, and the interactions between trait neuroticism and trauma exposure (personal casualty, degree of influence, total traumatic severity) were related to PTSD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The results highlight the role of trauma exposure and trait neuroticism as risk factors for PTSD symptoms. Therefore, the combination of these two factors should be investigated in clinical settings due to an augmented risk for more severe PTSD symptoms.