Evidence that genes for depression impact on the pathway from trauma to psychotic-like symptoms by occasioning emotional dysregulation

• Published in: Psychological medicine Vol. 42; no. 2; pp. 283 - 294
• Main Authors: Kramer, I. M. A., Simons, C. J. P., Myin-Germeys, I., Jacobs, N., Derom, C., Thiery, E., van Os, J., Wichers, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.02.2012
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Adversity; Biological and medical sciences; Child Abuse - psychology; Childhood; Depression; Depressive Disorder - genetics; Depressive Disorder - psychology; Diseases in Twins; Emotional disorders; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Gene-Environment Interaction; Genes; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Humans; Liability; Medical sciences; Mental depression; Middle Aged; Mood disorders; Neuroses; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychoses; Psychotic Disorders - genetics; Psychotic Disorders - psychology; Registries; Stress, Psychological - genetics; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Symptoms; Trauma; Young Adult; Childhood adversity; depressive disorder; gene–environment interaction; co-morbidity; twin study; psychosis; Mood disorder; Family study; gene-environment interaction; Depression; Environmental factor; Infantile experience; Emotional disorder; Genetic determinism; Twin; Psychosis; Symptomatology; Concomitant disease; Gene; Genotype environment interaction; Early traumatism; Genetics
• ISSN: 0033-2917; 1469-8978
• DOI: 10.1017/S0033291711001474

Genes for depression may act by making individuals more sensitive to childhood trauma. Given that childhood adversity is a risk factor for adult psychosis and symptoms of depression and psychosis tend to cluster within individuals and families, the aim was to examine whether the association between childhood adversity and psychotic-like symptoms is moderated by genetic liability for depression. A secondary aim was to determine to what degree a depression-related increase in stress sensitivity or depressive symptoms themselves occasioned the moderating effect. Female twins (n=508) completed both prospective and retrospective questionnaires regarding childhood adversity [the Symptom Checklist-90 - Revised (SCL-90-R) and SCID-I (psychotic symptoms)] and psychotic trait liability [the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE)]. Stress sensitivity was indexed by appraisals of event-related stress and negative affect (NA) in the flow of daily life, assessed with momentary assessment technology for five consecutive days. Multilevel regression analyses were used to examine moderation of childhood adversity by genetic liability for depression in the prediction of follow-up psychotic experiences. The effect of childhood adversity was significantly moderated by genetic vulnerability for depression in the model of both follow-up psychotic experiences (SCL-90-R) and follow-up psychotic trait liability (CAPE). The moderation by genetic liability was mediated by depressive experience but not by stress sensitivity. Genetic liability for depression may potentiate the pathway from childhood adversity to psychotic-like symptoms through dysfunctional emotional processing of anomalous experiences associated with childhood trauma.