(PS3-85) Child Maltreatment and Bipolar and Depressive Symptomatology in Young Adulthood: The Moderating Role of Maternal Attachment

Abstract Text: Child maltreatment (CM) has been associated with an increased risk for the development of depression and bipolar disorder (BD) in adulthood. Insecure attachments have also been shown to be a risk factor for depression and BD. In addition, maternal attachment has been found to be a significant moderator in the relationship between CM and depression in young adults. However, less is known about the influence of attachment in the relationship between CM and symptoms of BD. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore the role of maternal attachment as a potential risk or protective factor in the relationship between CM and depressive and bipolar symptomatology in a sample of young adults.

Participants (N=291) were college students who completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the General Behavior Inventory (GBI), and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA).

CM severity, as measured by the CTQ, was significantly correlated with greater depressive and bipolar symptoms on the GBI, and negatively associated with more secure maternal attachment on the IPPA. In addition, more secure attachment on the IPPA was associated with lower depressive and bipolar symptoms (ps <.001).

Two separate regression analyses were conducted to determine whether maternal attachment was a significant moderator between CM and depressive and bipolar symptoms. For depressive symptoms, results indicated significant main effects for sex (covariate) (β=-0.15, p<.05), CM (β=0.14, p<.05), and for attachment (β=-0.28, p<.001), such that being female, and reporting more severe CM and poorer maternal attachment, were all related to greater depressive symptoms. A significant interaction was found between CM and maternal attachment (β=-0.12, p<.05). Using simple slopes analyses to probe the interaction, results indicated that CM severity was significantly associated with depressive symptoms in college students with low maternal attachment (β=0.21, p<.001), but was not associated with depressive symptoms among those with high maternal attachment (β=0.07, p=.43).

For bipolar symptoms, there was also a significant main effect for attachment (β=-0.16, p<.05), indicating that lower maternal attachment was associated with greater bipolar symptomatology. There was also a significant interaction between CM and maternal attachment (β=-0.17, p<.01). There was no main effect for sex or CM. Simple slopes tests indicated that CM severity was significantly associated with bipolar symptoms among participants with low maternal attachment (β=0.18, p<.01), but was not significantly associated with bipolar symptoms among those with high maternal attachment (β=-0.02, p=.87) or at mean values of the interaction term (β=0.08, p=.25).

Maternal attachment significantly moderated the relationships between CM and symptoms of depression and BD, such that CM was significantly related to greater depressive and bipolar symptoms among individuals with less secure maternal attachments, but not among those with more secure attachments. These findings highlight the importance of secure maternal relationships as an important protective factor in the development of depressive and bipolar symptoms among emerging adults with histories of CM.