Interpersonal Sensitivity Mediates the Effects of Childhood Maltreatment on the Evaluation of Life Events and Anxiety States in Adult Community Volunteers

Abstract

Hiroshi Nakazawa,1 Jiro Masuya,1 Hajime Tanabe,2 Ichiro Kusumi,3 Takeshi Inoue,1 Masahiko Ichiki1 1Department of Psychiatry, Tokyo Medical University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 160-0023, Japan; 2Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Shizuoka University, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, 422-8529, Japan; 3Department of Psychiatry, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-8638, JapanCorrespondence: Takeshi InoueDepartment of Psychiatry, Tokyo Medical University, 6-7-1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 160-0023, JapanTel [phone]Fax [phone]Email [email protected]: Childhood maltreatment has long-lasting psychological effects, which often manifest in adulthood. Previous studies have suggested that the effects of childhood maltreatment are not only direct but also indirect, being mediated by other factors. In this study, we hypothesized that the effects of childhood maltreatment on state anxiety in adulthood are mediated by interpersonal sensitivity and the evaluation of life events, and investigated this possibility by covariance structure analysis.Subjects and Methods: Self-administered questionnaires (Child Abuse and Trauma Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y, Life Experiences Survey, and Interpersonal Sensitivity Measure) were distributed to adult community volunteers in Japan, and 404 eligible responses were collected. A structural equation model was constructed to analyze the direct and indirect effects of childhood maltreatment on state anxiety, with interpersonal sensitivity and the evaluation of life events as potential mediators.Results: Our model showed that childhood maltreatment increases state anxiety in adulthood both directly and indirectly via interpersonal sensitivity. In addition, interpersonal sensitivity mediated the effects of childhood maltreatment on the negative evaluation of life events, and the negative evaluation of life events mediated the effects of interpersonal sensitivity on anxiety symptoms.Limitations: There may be possible recall bias owing to the self-administration of the questionnaire. In addition, this study had a cross-sectional design, and hence the results should be validated by a prospective study.Conclusion: The effects of childhood maltreatment on the state anxiety of adult volunteers are not only direct but are also mediated by interpersonal sensitivity. Our results suggest that assessing interpersonal sensitivity may help to determine optimal treatments for patients with anxiety who experienced maltreatment in childhood.Keywords: covariance structure analysis, child abuse and trauma scale, state-trait anxiety inventory form Y, interpersonal sensitivity measure, life experiences survey

Keywords

• covariance structure analysis
• child abuse and trauma scale
• state-trait anxiety inventory form y
• interpersonal sensitivity measure
• life experiences survey