The relation between childhood trauma and anhedonia and positive affect in people with major depressive disorder

Background: Anhedonia is a common symptom for people who are diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder. Prior research found correlations between anhedonia and childhood trauma, but findings regarding childhood trauma subtypes are inconsistent. This study examines the relationship between anhedonia or positive affect and childhood trauma, including the childhood trauma subtypes. Methods: This study contained participants from the NESDA study. Our study contained 558 participants diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Multiple regressions were conducted to analyze the relations between childhood trauma or trauma subtypes and anhedonia or positive affect. Results: Childhood trauma was positively associated with anhedonia (β = .187, p < .001) and with the positive affect score (β = .111, p = .012). Emotional abuse (β = .216, p < .001) and emotional neglect (β = .139, p = .022) were positively correlated with anhedonia. Emotional neglect was positively associated with positive affect...Show moreBackground: Anhedonia is a common symptom for people who are diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder. Prior research found correlations between anhedonia and childhood trauma, but findings regarding childhood trauma subtypes are inconsistent. This study examines the relationship between anhedonia or positive affect and childhood trauma, including the childhood trauma subtypes. Methods: This study contained participants from the NESDA study. Our study contained 558 participants diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Multiple regressions were conducted to analyze the relations between childhood trauma or trauma subtypes and anhedonia or positive affect. Results: Childhood trauma was positively associated with anhedonia (β = .187, p < .001) and with the positive affect score (β = .111, p = .012). Emotional abuse (β = .216, p < .001) and emotional neglect (β = .139, p = .022) were positively correlated with anhedonia. Emotional neglect was positively associated with positive affect score (β = .191, p = .003). Conclusion: These findings suggest that childhood trauma, particularly emotional abuse and neglect, may influence anhedonia and positive affect in individuals with major depressive disorder, potentially impacting treatment outcomes. Further research is needed to explore these relationships in more depth. Limitations: Our study did not contain a large population who experienced sexual abuse and physical abuse. Our study did not investigate if the correlation between childhood trauma and anhedonia was exclusively related to anhedonia, or that it might be related to other symptoms of major depressive disorder.Show less

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The relation between childhood trauma and anhedonia and positive affect in people with major depressive disorder