Influence of Childhood Adversity on Depression Trajectories in Adolescence

Adolescents reported higher rate of depressive symptoms in recent years. From life course perspective, early social factors could influence mental health in later life by mediation through some pathways. However, little is known about the pathway between childhood adversity and the depression trajectories. This study aims explore the relationship between childhood adversity and depression trajectories in adolescents. We used Taiwan Education Panel Survey (TEPS) database which collected between 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007. A total of 3022 participants completed the 4-waves questionnaire were included in this study. The measures collected included: (1) independent variable: depression (scale range: 0-25); (2) dependent variables: childhood socioeconomic status and (3) confounders: sex, birth order, negative life events, family support, and self-expectation. Latent growth curve model (LGM) was used to analyze the association between depression and childhood socioeconomic status while adjusting for confounders. Results show that the mean of depression among study subjects were 14.4. In latent growth model, we found that childhood socioeconomic status was significantly associated with initial status of depressive disorders trajectories. And poor childhood socioeconomic status had high rates of increase during this period. In conclusion, childhood socioeconomic status could contribute disparities of depressive symptoms, and affect the developmental of depression trajectories. So we should build up effective intervention programs to reduce the effect of childhood adversity.