Latent profiles of childhood maltreatment and influence on later-life depressive symptoms trajectories: evidence from China

This study aimed to identify latent profiles of childhood maltreatment, assess their differential impact on later-life depressive symptoms trajectories, and investigate potential gender differences in these processes in the Chinese context. Data were drawn from five waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study spanning 2011–2020 (N = 12,856 participants aged 45–85). Latent Class Analysis and Latent Class Growth Modeling were used to identify childhood maltreatment profiles and depressive symptoms trajectories, respectively. Multinomial logistic regression models assessed the association between maltreatment profiles and depressive symptoms trajectories. All analyses were stratified by gender. Five childhood maltreatment profiles were identified: Low Maltreatment, Strict Parenting, Son Preference, Parental Neglect, and Multi-Perpetrator Physical Victimization. Four depressive symptoms trajectories emerged: Low-Stable, High-Decreasing, Moderate-Increasing, and High-Stable. The Strict Parenting, Son Preference, Parental Neglect, and Multi-Perpetrator Physical Victimization were significantly associated with higher risks of being in the three adverse trajectories. Gender differences were observed in the distribution of both maltreatment profiles and depressive symptoms trajectories, but not in the association between them. Childhood maltreatment, in any form, has profound and lasting mental health consequences. Life-course gender-specific interventions should be developed to eliminate maltreatment against children and mitigate their detrimental effects on later-life mental health.