title: Caring for My Abuser: Childhood Maltreatment and Caregiver Depression.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined depressive symptoms among adult survivors of childhood maltreatment who provided care to their former abusive/neglectful parents. We also investigated the extent to which four coping styles--problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, positive social support, and negative social support--moderated the association between childhood maltreatment and depressive symptoms of the caregivers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Among 1,001 filial caregivers from the 2003-2005 wave of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, 18.6% of respondents reported verbal, physical, or sexual abuse in childhood; 9.4% reported neglect in childhood. Ordinary least squares regression models were estimated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Persons who had a history of parental abuse showed significantly more frequent depressive symptoms when providing care to their abusive parent(s) compared with caregivers who had not experienced parental abuse. Those who had been neglected had significantly more frequent depressive symptoms than caregivers who did not report neglect. Additionally, the use of emotion-focused coping was more strongly associated with more frequent depressive symptoms among abused caregivers than among caregivers with no history of abuse.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This vulnerable group of caregivers should be recognized in the development and implementation of support services for family caregivers at the state and national levels. In direct practice settings, when assessing caregiver stress and burden, the history of childhood maltreatment needs to be taken into account.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Social Work, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. jooyoung.kong@bc.edu.
authors.forename: Jooyoung
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology and Institute on Aging, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Sara M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Moorman
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D014922:Wisconsin
keywords: Caregiving; Child abuse and neglect; Coping styles; Depressive symptoms; Stress process model