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Association between Child Maltreatment and Depressive Symptoms in Male Methamphetamine-dependent Patients: The Mediating Role of Social Support

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Abstract

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that affects brain function and family well-being and is associated with child abuse and neglect. This study aimed to explore the relationship between childhood maltreatment, social support, and depressive symptoms in methamphetamine-dependent patients. A total of 528 male methamphetamine-dependent patients were recruited from a drug rehabilitation center in China and assessed for childhood trauma, social support, and depression. We used the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) scale to measure patients’ history of childhood trauma, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to measure patients’ depressive symptoms, and the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) to measure patients’ level of social support. 56.25% of the methamphetamine-dependent patients experienced at least one type of childhood maltreatment. Compared to those patients without childhood maltreatment, patients with childhood maltreatment had lower levels of social support and higher levels of depressive symptoms. Mediation analyses revealed that subjective support and utilization of support significantly mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and depressive symptoms. The findings suggest that social support is an important factor in the link between childhood maltreatment and depression, and highlight the need to provide tailored interventions for methamphetamine-dependent individuals with a history of childhood maltreatment.

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  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Mengqian Qu, Dong Mei Wang, Yang Tian, Jiajing Chen, Rongrong Zhu, Yuqing Li & Xiang-Yang Zhang

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Mengqian Qu, Dong Mei Wang, Yang Tian, Jiajing Chen, Rongrong Zhu, Yuqing Li & Xiang-Yang Zhang

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Qu, M., Wang, D.M., Tian, Y. et al. Association between Child Maltreatment and Depressive Symptoms in Male Methamphetamine-dependent Patients: The Mediating Role of Social Support. Int J Ment Health Addiction (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-023-01209-5

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