Interrelationship of childhood abuse, BIS/BAS, and stressful life events in predicting depression: A structural equation modeling study

Aim Childhood abuse, personality traits, and stressful life events are among the many factors that contribute to the development of depression, yet the nature of their interrelationships has not been fully clarified. This research set out to investigate the interrelationships among childhood abuse, stressful life events, behavioral inhibition system (BIS)/behavioral activation system (BAS) sensitivity, and depressive symptoms in adults from a nonclinical population using structural equation modeling. Methods A total of 286 Japanese adults without any psychiatric history participated in the study. Participants filled out a set of self‐report instruments, including the Patient Health Questionnaire‐9 (PHQ‐9), the BIS/BAS scale, the Child Abuse and Trauma Scale, and the Life Experiences Survey (LES). Data analysis was conducted using multiple regression and structural equation modeling. Results By structural equation modeling, childhood abuse showed a significant indirect effect on PHQ‐9 through BIS. The pathway from childhood abuse to the LES negative change score via BIS reached statistical significance, while the remaining indirect routes did not show significance. Childhood abuse had a significant total indirect effect on PHQ‐9 scores (indirect coefficient = 0.092, p = 0.001). Conclusion Childhood abuse influences the increase in depressive symptoms via increased BIS sensitivity, but not via stressful life events.