Do Adult Attachment Style or Personality Mediate the Relationship Between Childhood Maltreatment and Late-Life Depression in Poor Communities?

OBJECTIVE: Childhood maltreatment is associated with late-life depression. Preliminary evidence indicates that personality characteristics, in particular neuroticism and extroversion, and an anxious attachment style mediate this association. The objective is to evaluate 3 models, in which personality and attachment are considered mediators between childhood maltreatment and late-life depression in a socioeconomically disadvantaged Brazilian population. METHODS: This study included participants (n = 260) from socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods of Porto Alegre, Brazil, who completed measures of childhood maltreatment (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire - CTQ), personality characteristics (NEO-Five Factor Inventory), attachment styles (Relationship Scales Questionnaire), and geriatric depression (Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview-Plus). General multiple and sequential mediation analyses were used to test for possible associations. RESULTS: Attachment anxiety but not attachment avoidance is a mediator between childhood maltreatment and geriatric depression. Neuroticism is a full mediator. At that, attachment anxiety was found to be a predictor of neuroticism. Finally, sequential mediation analysis shows a path from childhood maltreatment to geriatric depression through attachment anxiety and neuroticism. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest a pathway from childhood maltreatment to anxious attachment, which in turn predicts higher neuroticism that itself may favor late-life depression. This hypothesis could have implications for older adults living in low socioeconomic settings in that treating the high-risk group of maltreated children may help prevent late-life depression.

Relationship between childhood maltreatment and geriatric depression: the mediator effect of personality traits.

BACKGROUND: Childhood maltreatment is an important factor associated with adverse mental health outcomes including geriatric depression and the "big five" personality characteristics. The objective of this study was to evaluate a model where personality characteristics mediate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and geriatric depression. METHOD: In this cross-sectional study, elderly subjects from socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods of Porto Alegre, Brazil (n = 260) completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview 5.0 (MINI plus). We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate the mediation hypothesis. RESULTS: The five personality factors (neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, openness, and conscientiousness) were related to childhood maltreatment and depression. Mediation analysis revealed that neuroticism and extraversion are complete mediators, agreeableness and conscientiousness are partial mediators, and openness is not a mediator. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the hypothesis in which childhood maltreatment is associated with geriatric depression and mediated by personality factors. These results suggest that reducing the maladaptive personality trait in elderly people who suffered childhood maltreatment could prevent geriatric depression.

Abuso contra idosos: negligencia e maus-tratos / Elderly abuse: neglect and maltreatment

A violência e os maus-tratos contra idosos constituem um importante problema de saúde publica no Brasil e no mundo. Os filhos, netos e cônjuges/companheiros são os principais agressores e as mulheres idosas e viúvas são as mais suscetíveis. Estatísticas oficiais do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul são apresentadas evidenciando a lesão corporal como fato mais prevalente. Os profissionais de saúde são peças fundamentais na batalha contra a violência ao idoso especialmente na detecção e denuncia dos casos.