Positive childhood experiences as predictors of anxiety and depression in a large sample from Turkey

BACKGROUND: Positive childhood experiences positively influence one's adult life, while the absence of such positive experiences can potentially yield mental health problems throughout the lifespan. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the role of positive childhood experiences on depression and anxiety levels. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: 3090 (2059 women) young adults participated in this research. They ranged in age between 18 and 68 years (M = 28.78, SD = 9.44) and completed the self-report measures including the Positive Childhood Experiences Scale, Beck Depression and Anxiety Scales and Personal Information Forms. METHOD: A cross-sectional research design was used to collect the data through social media platforms. We conducted a regression analysis to examine how positive childhood experiences contribute to depression and anxiety. RESULTS: The results of correlation analysis indicated that positive childhood experiences were significantly negatively related to depression and anxiety. Regression analysis revealed that positive childhood experiences explained a significant amount of variance in the prediction of depression (10 %) and anxiety (8 %) after controlling for demographic factors. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the frequency of positive experiences lived during childhood might significantly reduce anxiety and depression, and positive childhood experiences might positively affect them.