TY - JOUR
T1 - Day-to-day affect fluctuations in adults with childhood trauma history
T2 - A two-week ecological momentary assessment study
AU - Kuzminskaite, Erika
AU - Vinkers, Christiaan H.
AU - Smit, Arnout C.
AU - van Ballegooijen, Wouter
AU - Elzinga, Bernet M.
AU - Riese, Harriëtte
AU - Milaneschi, Yuri
AU - Penninx, Brenda W. J. H.
N1 - Funding Information: The infrastructure for the NESDA study ( www.nesda.nl ) is funded through the Geestkracht program of the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw, grant number: 10-000-1002) and financial contributions of several universities (the departments of psychiatry of Amsterdam University Medical Centers (location VUmc), University Medical Center Groningen and Leiden University Medical Center, the departments of clinical psychology of the University of Groningen and Leiden University), Mental Health care institutions (GGZ inGeest, GGZ Drenthe, Lentis, GGZ Friesland, Rivierduinen and Dimence Group) and the Rob Giel Onderzoekscentrum (RGOc). BP is supported through the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (EARLYCAUSE grant n° 848158). CHV is supported by a Dutch Research Council (NWO) Vidi grant (09150171910042). BME is supported by a Dutch Research Council (NWO) Vici grant (435-15-006). Publisher Copyright: Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Background Childhood trauma (CT) may increase vulnerability to psychopathology through affective dysregulation (greater variability, autocorrelation, and instability of emotional symptoms). However, CT associations with dynamic affect fluctuations while considering differences in mean affect levels across CT status have been understudied. Methods 346 adults (age = 49.25 ± 12.55, 67.0% female) from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety participated in ecological momentary assessment. Positive and negative affect (PA, NA) were measured five times per day for two weeks by electronic diaries. Retrospectively-reported CT included emotional neglect and emotional/physical/sexual abuse. Linear regressions determined associations between CT and affect fluctuations, controlling for age, sex, education, and mean affect levels. Results Compared to those without CT, individuals with CT reported significantly lower mean PA levels (Cohen's d = -0.620) and higher mean NA levels (d = 0.556) throughout the two weeks. CT was linked to significantly greater PA variability (d = 0.336), NA variability (d = 0.353), and NA autocorrelation (d = 0.308), with strongest effects for individuals reporting higher CT scores. However, these effects were entirely explained by differences in mean affect levels between the CT groups. Findings suggested consistency of results in adults with and without lifetime depressive/anxiety disorders and across CT types, with sexual abuse showing the smallest effects. Conclusions Individuals with CT show greater affective dysregulation during the two-week monitoring of emotional symptoms, likely due to their consistently lower PA and higher NA levels. It is essential to consider mean affect level when interpreting the impact of CT on affect dynamics.
AB - Background Childhood trauma (CT) may increase vulnerability to psychopathology through affective dysregulation (greater variability, autocorrelation, and instability of emotional symptoms). However, CT associations with dynamic affect fluctuations while considering differences in mean affect levels across CT status have been understudied. Methods 346 adults (age = 49.25 ± 12.55, 67.0% female) from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety participated in ecological momentary assessment. Positive and negative affect (PA, NA) were measured five times per day for two weeks by electronic diaries. Retrospectively-reported CT included emotional neglect and emotional/physical/sexual abuse. Linear regressions determined associations between CT and affect fluctuations, controlling for age, sex, education, and mean affect levels. Results Compared to those without CT, individuals with CT reported significantly lower mean PA levels (Cohen's d = -0.620) and higher mean NA levels (d = 0.556) throughout the two weeks. CT was linked to significantly greater PA variability (d = 0.336), NA variability (d = 0.353), and NA autocorrelation (d = 0.308), with strongest effects for individuals reporting higher CT scores. However, these effects were entirely explained by differences in mean affect levels between the CT groups. Findings suggested consistency of results in adults with and without lifetime depressive/anxiety disorders and across CT types, with sexual abuse showing the smallest effects. Conclusions Individuals with CT show greater affective dysregulation during the two-week monitoring of emotional symptoms, likely due to their consistently lower PA and higher NA levels. It is essential to consider mean affect level when interpreting the impact of CT on affect dynamics.
KW - affect
KW - anxiety
KW - autocorrelation
KW - childhood trauma
KW - depression
KW - ecological momentary assessment
KW - experience sampling
KW - maltreatment
KW - mood
KW - negative affect
KW - positive affect
KW - variability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85174012805&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291723002969
DO - https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291723002969
M3 - Article
C2 - 37811562
SN - 0033-2917
JO - Psychological Medicine
JF - Psychological Medicine
ER -