title: Childhood sexual abuse and depressive symptom severity: the role of neuroticism.
abstract: This study examined neuroticism's role in the association between childhood sexual abuse and severity of depressive symptoms in a sample of 105 psychiatric patients 50 years of age and older diagnosed with major depressive disorder. As hypothesized, men and women who reported histories of childhood sexual abuse had more severe depressive symptoms than those without abuse histories. Further, neuroticism partially accounted for the association between severe childhood sexual abuse and depressive symptom severity. Self-consciousness, a facet of neuroticism conceptually related to shame, also partially accounted for that relationship. These findings suggest that neuroticism may be one way in which childhood sexual abuse contributes to depressive symptoms in later life. Prospective studies are needed.
authors.affiliation: University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York 14642-8409, USA.
authors.forename: Stephanie A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Gamble
authors.forename: Nancy L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Talbot
authors.forename: Paul R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Duberstein
authors.forename: Kenneth R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Conner
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Franus
authors.forename: Anthony M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Beckman
authors.forename: Yeates
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Conwell
mesh_terms: D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009497:Neurotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D010551:Personality / Q000145:classification*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012649:Self Concept; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012752:Shame; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires