title: Accounting for the associations between child maltreatment and internalizing problems: The role of alexithymia.
abstract: Internalizing difficulties are one of the most widely documented consequences of child maltreatment. However, there is a need for studies delineating the factors that account for this association. Despite research showing that alexithymia is associated with both child maltreatment and internalizing problems, the role of alexithymia in the link between child maltreatment and internalizing problems has not received much attention in the literature. The current study evaluated whether a history of child maltreatment was associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and loneliness in emerging adulthood, and whether alexithymia partially accounted for these associations. Participants included 339 emerging adults ranging between 18 and 25 years of age (M=19.00, SD=1.26, 51.3% male). Exposure to child maltreatment (i.e., physical abuse, physical neglect, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and emotional neglect) was positively associated with depression, anxiety, and loneliness symptoms. Tests of indirect effects suggested that associations between emotional neglect and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and loneliness were partially explained by alexithymia. However, alexithymia did not account for any other associations between the remaining four maltreatment types and internalizing problems. Findings highlight the need for further evaluation of the factors that might account for associations between child maltreatment and internalizing difficulties. Future directions and implications for interventions are reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Child Psychology Program and Consortium for Translational Research on Aggression and Drug Abuse (ConTRADA), University of Kansas, 2009 Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.
authors.forename: Shaquanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Clinical Child Psychology Program and Consortium for Translational Research on Aggression and Drug Abuse (ConTRADA), University of Kansas, 2009 Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.
authors.forename: Paula J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Fite
authors.affiliation: Clinical Child Psychology Program and Consortium for Translational Research on Aggression and Drug Abuse (ConTRADA), University of Kansas, 2009 Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.
authors.forename: Katie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology and ConTRADA, University of Kansas, 5040 Malott Hall, 1251 Wescoe Hall Road, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bortolato
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000523:psychology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008132:Loneliness / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D057566:Self Report; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alexithymia; Anxiety; Child maltreatment; Depression; Internalizing problems; Loneliness