Childhood trauma is associated with depressive symptoms in Mexico City women

OBJECTIVE: To describe childhood trauma and depressive symptoms in Mexican women and to explore the relationships between number and type of childhood traumatic events and depressive symptoms. METHODS: A community-based sample of 100 women was interviewed using a demographic questionnaire, the Life...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Maria Openshaw, Lisa M Thompson, Pilar Bernal de Pheils, Maria Eugenia Mendoza-Flores, Janice Humphreys
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Spanish
Portuguese
Published: Pan American Health Organization 2015
Subjects:
Salud de la mujer
depresión
estrés psicológico
maltrato a niños
México
Medicine
R
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
RC955-962
Public aspects of medicine
RA1-1270
Arctic
Online Access:https://doaj.org/article/65a0555700a74a8f9decb3edf0bc3f9b
Description
Summary:OBJECTIVE: To describe childhood trauma and depressive symptoms in Mexican women and to explore the relationships between number and type of childhood traumatic events and depressive symptoms. METHODS: A community-based sample of 100 women was interviewed using a demographic questionnaire, the Life Stressor Checklist-Revised (LSC-R), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Childhood trauma (trauma at or before 16 years of age) and depressive symptoms were described, and logistic and linear regressions were used to analyze the relationship between childhood traumatic events and current depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Participants reported a mean of 9.46 (standard deviation (SD): 4.18) lifetime traumas and 2.76 (SD: 2.34) childhood traumas. The mean CES-D score was 18.9 (SD: 12.0) and 36.0% of participants had clinically significant depression (CES-D > 24). Depression scores were correlated with lifetime trauma, childhood trauma, education level, employment status, and number of self-reported current medical conditions. Depression scores were not significantly correlated with age, marital status, number of children, or socioeconomic status. For every additional childhood trauma experienced, the odds of clinically significant depressive symptoms (CES-D > 24) increased by 50.0% (adjusted odds ratio (OR): 1.50; 95% confidence interval: 1.14-1.96), after controlling for number of children, age, education level, employment status, and number of self-reported medical conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that the number of childhood trauma exposures is associated with current depression among urban Mexican women, suggesting a need for trauma-informed care in this setting.

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