Early traumatic experiences and their relationship with the emergence of depressive symptoms in adulthood

Abstract

The aim of this study was the exploration of early traumatic experiences related to emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional and physical neglect, as well as the connection of the dimensions of these early traumatic experiences with the experiencing of depressive symptoms in adulthood. A sample of 331 University students in Tirana, 60 males (N = 60) or 18.1% and 271 females (N = 271) or 81.9% completed the online Beck Inventory for Depression (BDI), and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF). The minimum age of the youth participating in the study was 18 years and the maximum age was 32 years, with an average of 20 years (M = 20.07) and the standard deviation (SD = 1.5). Descriptive, correlational and linear regression analysis were used for data processing through the SPSS 22. The study confirmed the connection between early traumatic experiences and the appearance of depressive symptoms in adulthood (r(329) =.333, p