title: Association between childhood adversities and adulthood depressive symptoms in South Korea: results from a nationally representative longitudinal study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine how childhood adversity (ie, parental death, parental divorce, suspension of school education due to financial strain or being raised in a relative's house due to financial strain) is associated with prevalence and incidence of adulthood depressive symptoms and whether this association differs by gender and by age in South Korea.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort design.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nationally representative longitudinal survey in South Korea.
  
  
  METHODS
  11 526 participants in South Korea.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prevalence and incidence of adulthood depressive symptoms were assessed as a dichotomous variable using the Centers for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale in 2006 and 2007.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the prevalence analysis, each of the four childhood adversities was significantly associated with a higher prevalence of adulthood depressive symptoms. The higher incidence of depressive symptoms was associated with suspension of school education (OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.32 to 1.82) and parental divorce (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.00 to 2.71). In the age-stratified analyses, prevalence of depressive symptoms was associated with all CAs across different adulthoods, except for parental divorce and late adulthood depressive symptoms. After being stratified by gender, the association was significant for parental divorce (OR 3.76, 95% CI 2.34 to 6.03) in the prevalence analysis and for being raised in a relative's house (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.21 to 2.94) in the incidence analysis only among women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that childhood adversity may increase prevalence and incidence of adulthood depressive symptoms, and the impact of parental divorce or being raised in a relative's house due to financial strain on adulthood depressive symptoms may differ by gender.
authors.affiliation: Healthcare Management, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Seung-Sup
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hyobum
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Hyoung Yoon
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Young Su
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Dong-Woo
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Lee
keywords: Childhood adversity; Depression & mood disorders < PSYCHIATRY; Life-course epidemiology; South Korea