Moderating effects of resilience on depression in individuals with a history of childhood abuse or trauma exposure.
BACKGROUND
Influences of resilience on the presence and severity of depression following trauma exposure are largely unknown. Hence, we examined effects of resilience on depressive symptom severity in individuals with past childhood abuse and/or other trauma exposure.


METHODS
In this cross-sectional study of 792 adults, resilience was measured with the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, depression with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), childhood abuse with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and other traumas with the Trauma Events Inventory.


RESULTS
Multiple linear regression modeling with depression severity (BDI score) as the outcome yielded 4 factors: childhood abuse (β=2.5, p<0.0001), other trauma (β=3.5, p<0.0001), resilience (β=-0.5, p<0.0001), and other trauma × resilience interaction term (β=-0.1, p=0.0021), all of which were significantly associated with depression severity, even after adjusting for age, sex, race, education, employment, income, marital status, and family psychiatric history. Childhood abuse and trauma exposure contributed to depressive symptom severity while resilience mitigated it.


CONCLUSIONS
Resilience moderates depressive symptom severity in individuals exposed to childhood abuse or other traumas both as a main effect and an interaction with trauma exposure. Resilience may be amenable to external manipulation and could present a potential focus for treatments and interventions.
Wingo
Aliza P
AP
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States.
Wrenn
Glenda
G
Pelletier
Tiffany
T
Gutman
Alisa R
AR
Bradley
Bekh
B
Ressler
Kerry J
KJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011247:Pregnancy; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult