History of Childhood Maltreatment, Negative Cognitive Styles, and Episodes of Depression in Adulthood

Participants at high (HR) and low (LR) cognitive risk for depression, based on the presence versus absence of negative cognitive styles, were followed longitudinally for 2.5 years. Reported levels of childhood emotional, but not physical or sexual, maltreatment were related to levels of hopelessness and episodes of nonendogenous major depression (NE-MD) and hopelessness depression (HD) during the prospective follow-up period. HR participants reported more childhood emotional maltreatment but less childhood physical maltreatment than did LR participants. In support of Beck's (1967, 1987) theory, cognitive risk fully mediated the relation between childhood emotional maltreatment and NE-MD. In support of the hopelessness theory (Abramson, Metalsky, & Alloy, 1989), cognitive risk partially mediated the relation between childhood emotional maltreatment and hopelessness and fully mediated the relation between childhood emotional maltreatment and HD. Additionally, hopelessness partially mediated the relation between cognitive risk and HD.