Childhood maltreatment as risk factor for lifetime depression: The role of different types of experiences and sensitive periods

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is associated with a higher risk for the development of lifetime major depressive disorder (MDD). Initial evidence further suggests a significant role of type and timing of CM on mental health. Thus, this study aimed at investigating which particular subtypes of CM at which age of exposure are the best predictors for the development of lifetime MDD. Three months postpartum, N = 285 women were interviewed with the German interview version of the Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology of Exposure Scale which allows a broad and differentiated assessment of CM and enables the assessment of ages at which CM occured. Lifetime MDD was diagnosed with the Structured Clinical Interview for mental disorders according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5). To identify the strongest predictor, random forest analyses embedded in a conditional inference framework were applied. Analyses revealed that emotional subtypes of CM by parents, experienced during adolescence, showed the strongest prediction for lifetime MDD. Furthermore, women with a lifetime diagnosis of MDD reported a significantly greater CM severity, more different subtypes of CM, and a longer duration of CM compared to women without lifetime MDD. Given the “neglect” of emotional CM in previous studies, emotional neglect and abuse should be considered more frequently in the prevention and treatment of MDD.