@article{ref1,
title="Disentangling the associations between past childhood adversity and psychopathology during the COVID-19 pandemic: the mediating roles of specific pandemic stressors and coping strategies",
journal="Child abuse and neglect",
year="2022",
author="Jernslett, Maria and Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous, Xenia and Lioupi, Chrysanthi and Syros, Ioannis and Kapatais, Alexandros and Karamanoli, Vassia and Evgeniou, Eleftheria and Messas, Kostas and Palaiokosta, Triada and Papathanasiou, Eleni and Lotzin, Annett",
volume="129",
number="",
pages="e105673-e105673",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Individuals with a history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) display heightened symptoms of psychopathology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, no study has investigated what aspects of the pandemic are of particular concern for this population and ways in which strategies to coping with pandemic stressors may exacerbate their clinical symptomatology. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: This study explores what pandemic stressors and coping strategies are associated with ACEs, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the COVID-19 pandemic, before investigating whether the identified chief stressors and coping styles mediate the effects of ACEs on depression and PTSD. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: 1107 Greek adults were sampled from the general population. <br><br>METHODS: Participants completed the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire, Patient Health Questionnaire, Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5, Pandemic Stressor Scale, and Brief Cope Scale. <br><br>RESULTS: ACEs and depression were both predominantly associated with difficult housing conditions as a stressor (b = 0.079, p < .001 and b = 0.046, p < .001, respectively), whereas PTSD was mainly related to fear of contracting the COVID-19 virus (b = 0.065, p < .001). Self-blame was the main coping strategy associated with both ACEs (b = 0.046, p = .010), depression (b = 0.071, p < .0005), and PTSD (b = 0.088, p < .0005). Difficult housing conditions and self-blame further demonstrated a significant serial mediation effect in the relationship between ACEs with both depression (b = 0.105, 95% CI [0.0607, 0.158]) and PTSD (b = 0.019, 95% CI [0.011, 0.031]). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that policy makers should identify ways of ameliorating challenging housing conditions, and that service providers should target self-blame in the psychological treatment of adults with ACEs during the COVID-19 pandemic.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0145-2134",
doi="10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105673",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105673"
}