| Major depressive disorder is one of the most common psychiatric disorders,a mental illness that seriously endangers the physical and mental health of the general public and causes a high socioeconomic burden.The present study used trait depression to measure the degree of depression as an alternative to state depression,which was previously highly susceptible to external environmental stimuli,events,and even time.Childhood maltreatment is not only associated with an increased risk of developing depression,but also with its timing of onset,number of episodes,duration of illness,and treatment outcome.Latent vulnerability theory suggests that childhood maltreatment experiences lead to measurable changes in an individual’s neurocognitive systems that affect cognitive and emotional processes by disrupting the developmental maturation of underlying brain networks,ultimately leading to increased vulnerability to the development of depression.Exploring the relationship between childhood maltreatment and trait depression in depressed individuals,and what factors play a strengthening or weakening role,could enrich research on the relationship between childhood maltreatment and depression.In this study,questionnaire data from 288 validated depressed patients were collected using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire(CTQ-SF),Ruminative Responses Scale(RRS),the State-Trait Depression Scale(ST-DEP),and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale(MAAS),and statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS 25.0 and Mplus 8.3 software,including Harman’s one-way test,descriptive analysis,Pearson correlation coefficient,independent sample t-test,ANOVA,regression analysis,and Bootstrap test.The main findings of the study were as follows:(1)Childhood maltreatment directly predicted trait depression(β = 0.249,p < 0.001).Childhood maltreatment positively predicted ruminative thinking(β =0.449,p < 0.001),while the mediating variable ruminative thinking significantly predicted trait depression(β = 0.566,p < 0.001).(2)Both the direct effect(effect size = 0.249,SE = 0.056,95%CI = [0.138,0.357])and the indirect effect(effect size = 0.254,SE = 0.042,95%CI = [0.177,0.346])of childhood maltreatment on trait depression did not include zero.(3)The indirect effects of childhood maltreatment affecting trait depression through brooding rumination(effect size = 0.151,SE = 0.048,95%CI = [0.067,0.258)and reflective rumination(effect size = 0.132,SE = 0.055,95%CI = [0.041,0.257)both excluded zero.(4)The interaction term between ruminative thinking and mindfulness was significantly positively correlated with trait depression(β = 0.222,p < 0.001).Rumination thinking could significantly predict the depressive traits of depression patients with high mindfulness levels(bsimple slope = 0.543,t = 6.331,p < 0.001,95% CI = [0.379,0.720]),while this predictive effect did not exist in depression patients with low mindfulness levels(bsimple slope = 0.133,t = 1.463,p = 0.143,95% CI = [-0.047,0.311]).(5)The effect values for childhood maltreatment affecting trait depression through ruminative thinking were 0.058(SE = 0.042,95%CI = [-0.019,0.148]),0.149(SE = 0.038,95%CI = [0.086,0.239])and 0.239(SE = 0.051,95%CI = [0.151,0.348])when mindfulness took different values of-1Z,0 and +1Z,respectively.The study concluded that(1)childhood maltreatment positively predicted trait depression in depressed patients.(2)Ruminative thinking partially mediates the relationship between childhood maltreatment and trait depression in depressed patients,and childhood maltreatment can affect trait depression directly or indirectly through ruminative thinking.(3)In depressed patients,both brooding rumination and reflective rumination can be used as mediating variables between childhood maltreatment and trait depression,and both can positively predict the degree of trait depression in patients.(4)mindful attentional awareness moderated ruminative thinking and trait depression,and as the level of mindful attentional awareness increased in depressed patients,ruminative thinking was a stronger predictor of trait depression.(5)In the pathway of childhood maltreatment via ruminative thinking to trait depression,mindful attentional awareness plays a moderating role,and a moderating mediator model can be constructed.This study provides a new perspective for understanding depression in depressed patients,but there are many shortcomings,such as: the CTQ-SF is a retrospective questionnaire and the results measured have recall bias;the MAAS is a single-dimensional questionnaire and lacks a measure of the connotation of mindful attitudes;and cross-sectional data cannot be used to infer causal relationships between variables.Therefore,a longitudinal follow-up study may be used in the future,or a multidimensional mindfulness scale may be used to investigate the specific moderating effect of each factor of mindfulness over a longer period. |
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