title: Associations between depression and specific childhood experiences of abuse and neglect: A meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Research documents a strong relationship between childhood maltreatment and depression. However, only few studies have examined the specific effects of various types of childhood abuse/neglect on depression. This meta-analysis estimated the associations between depression and different types of childhood maltreatment (antipathy, neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and psychological abuse) assessed with the same measure, the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse (CECA) interview.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic search in scientific databases included use of CECA interview and strict clinical assessment for major depression as criteria. Our meta-analysis utilized Cohen's d and relied on a random-effects model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The literature search yielded 12 primary studies (reduced from 44), with a total of 4372 participants and 34 coefficients. Separate meta-analyses for each type of maltreatment revealed that psychological abuse and neglect were most strongly associated with the outcome of depression. Sexual abuse, although significant, was less strongly related. Furthermore, the effects of specific types of childhood maltreatment differed across adult and adolescent samples.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our strict criteria for selecting the primary studies resulted in a small numbers of available studies. It restricted the analyses for various potential moderators.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This meta-analysis addressed the differential effects of type of childhood maltreatment on major depression, partially explaining between-study variance. The findings clearly highlight the potential impact of the more "silent" types of childhood maltreatment (other than physical and sexual abuse) on the development of depression.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre of Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; Department of Psychological and Educational Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural and Cultural Studies, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Maria Rita
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Infurna
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre of Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Corinna
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Reichl
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre of Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Parzer
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, UKE - Kore University of Enna, Enna, Italy.
authors.forename: Adriano
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schimmenti
authors.affiliation: Centre for Abuse and Trauma Studies, Middlesex University, London, UK.
authors.forename: Antonia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bifulco
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre of Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: michael.kaess@med.uni-heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaess
mesh_terms: D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000367:Age Factors; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans
keywords: Abuse; CECA; Depression; Maltreatment; Meta-analysis; Neglect