Childhood Maltreatment and Depressive Symptoms in College Students

Abstract

The current study examined the relationship between the different types of child abuse (i.e., sexual, physical, psychological maltreatment, neglect, and witnessing violence) and depression in college students. Potential variables of the relationship also were investigated. The final analyses included 89 (21 males, 60 females, 6 non-binary individuals, and 2 not specified individuals) college students. The participants completed several self-report surveys measuring demographic information, depression, stress, and childhood abuse histories. Results indicated that a history of childhood abuse correlated positively with depression in college students. However, none of the different types of childhood abuse were independently predictive of depression in the current sample. Additionally, stress was found to be positively correlated with depression in college students. There also was a significant difference in depression scores for females as compared to other gender categories assessed.