Childhood Adversity, Adult Stress, and the Risk of Major Depression or Generalized Anxiety Disorder in US Soldiers: A Test of the Stress Sensitization Hypothesis

To better understand childhood factors that influence adult mental health, the relationship between childhood maltreatment, recent stressful experiences, and current depression and anxiety symptoms was examined in the study by having 30,436 new Soldiers complete self-administered questionnaires. Results indicated that compared to Soldiers who did not experience childhood maltreatment, Soldiers who had such experience were more likely to have depression and anxiety disorders after being exposed to stress in the past 12 months.