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Contribution title The impact of adverse childhood experiences on the onset of depression in adolescents
Contribution code D2.149
Authors
  1. Alexandra-Diana Iotu Clinical Psychiatry Hospital “Prof. Dr. Al. Obregia” Presenter
  2. Andreea Socol
  3. Lucia Emanuela Andrei “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Bucharest
  4. Alexandra Buică "Prof. Dr. Alexandru Obregia" Clinical Psychiatry Hospital Bucharest Romania
  5. Ramona Letzner University of Bucharest, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences
  6. Diana Vasile University of Bucharest, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences
  7. Florina Rad “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Bucharest
Form of presentation Poster
Topic
  • T43 - Trauma
Abstract Aims
One in five adolescents experience depressive symptoms. Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) represent traumatic events that occurred during childhood that can leave a lasting impact on the individual. The main objective was to investigate and highlight the impact of adverse childhood experiences such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect on the onset of depression in a pediatric psychiatric population.
Methods
The study group consists of 67 patients aged between 13 and 17 with depressive symptoms, evaluated in a pediatric psychiatry clinic between January-April 2024. We applied The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Childhood Disorders (KID-SCID) and Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II) to assess the depressive symptomatology and The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) to screen for any traumatic history.
Results and Conclusions
We identified significant positive correlations between depressive symptoms and emotional abuse (r=.513, p < 0.001), emotional neglect (r=.391, p < 0.01), and physical neglect (r=.349, p < 0.01). We also found that some ACE are strong predictors for the onset of depression: emotional abuse (p < 0.001), physical neglect (p < 0.001) and emotional neglect (p < 0.004). Considering the aforementioned we can conclude that patients who have experienced one of these forms of abuse are more likely to develop depressive symptoms, the strongest link being observed with emotional abuse. Evaluating the existence of ACE in adolescents is crucial due to the significantly higher risk of major depressive episodes, but also for addressing them in the psychotherapeutic process.