Childhood Trauma and Major Depression in Adulthood

Abstract

Childhood trauma and major depression in adulthood are pressing issues in the United States today. High adverse childhood experiences scores (ACEs) are prevalent – one in six adults in the United States reported experiencing four or more types of ACEs in their lifetime when surveyed in November 2019 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2019). Depression is also a widespread and common disorder – the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 21 million adults 18 or older in the United States had at least one major depressive episode in 2020, representing 8.4% of adults in the United States (National Institute of Mental Health, 2022b). The ACEs Questionnaire is a 10-question scoring system that measures trauma before the age of 18 – it asks questions related to emotional or sexual abuse, substance use within the home, death, divorce, a parent who is incarcerated, and more. The Childhood Maltreatment (CM) scoring system operates similarly, giving a score of 0 to 20, with higher scores reflecting greater severity of maltreatment. Due to the high incidence of both childhood trauma and major depression in adults, it is relevant to ask if the two are positively correlated; the purpose of this evidence-based practice review is to better understand the relationship between childhood trauma and major depression in adulthood. Nurses and other healthcare professionals can use this information to provide trauma-informed care to psychiatric patients and any patient with coexisting psychiatric conditions.