Trait self-acceptance mediates parental childhood abuse predicting depression and anxiety symptoms in adulthood.

BACKGROUND: Biopsychosocial models posit that experiencing parental childhood abuse increases vulnerability to psychopathology in adulthood. There is a lack of studies investigating mediators of the parental childhood abuse–adulthood psychopathology relation. The current study investigated if trait self-acceptance mediated the parental childhood abuse–adulthood major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and panic disorder (PD) severity relations. METHODS: Participants (n=3,294) partook in the 18-year Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) study at three time-points. We conducted structural equation modeling analyses to test how maternal and paternal childhood abuse at Time 1 would independently positively predict MDD, GAD, and PD severity at Time 3 and if self-acceptance at Time 2, mediated those relations while controlling for adulthood MDD, GAD, and PD severity at Time 1. RESULTS: Self-acceptance notably mediated the parental childhood abuseadulthood MDD, GAD, and PD relations. Overall, higher paternal and maternal childhood abuse was associated with lower self-acceptance. Reduced self-acceptance predicted heightened adulthood MDD, GAD, and PD. CONCLUSION: Findings highlight the importance of understanding the parental childhood abuse–adulthood psychopathology relation and the possible mechanisms of its long-term impact.