Do interpersonal fears mediate the association between childhood maltreatment and interpersonal skills deficits? A matched cross-sectional analysis

OBJECTIVE: Childhood maltreatment, interpersonal fear and a specific kind of interpersonal skills deficit (preoperational thinking) have all been associated with persistent depressive disorder (PDD). We hypothesize that interpersonal fears mediate the association between childhood maltreatment and preoperational thinking.

METHOD: A total of 108 matched participants have been examined cross-sectionally (31 healthy controls, 30 patients with episodic depression and 47 patients with PDD) with the following instruments: the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-SF), a measure of interpersonal fear (CBASP Interpersonal Questionnaire) and the Lübeck Questionnaire of Preoperational Thinking.

RESULTS: Patients with PDD reported significantly more childhood maltreatment than patients with episodic depression (d = 0.65) and healthy controls (d = 1.29). They also had more interpersonal fears (d = 0.71 and d = 2.11 respectively) and higher levels of preoperational thinking (d = 0.90 and d = 2.78 respectively). The association between childhood maltreatment and preoperational thinking was mediated through interpersonal fears.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings might have important implications for psychotherapy of PDD because they demonstrate how specific problems in social interactions can be associated with interpersonal fears that arise secondary to childhood maltreatment.