Contrast Avoidance and Anxiety Sensitivity Mediate the Relationship Between Childhood Maltreatment and Psychological Distress in Young Adulthood.

Abstract

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is associated with elevated depression and anxiety in young adulthood; however, there is a dearth of research identifying the intermediary pathways that link CM to these phenomena. The present study investigated two psychological factors-contrast avoidance, sensitivity to and avoidance of sudden negative emotional shifts, and anxiety sensitivity, the fear of arousal-related body sensations-as potential mediators of the relationship between CM and psychological distress in young adulthood. Our sample consisted of 280 undergraduate students who completed self-report measures of childhood maltreatment, anxiety sensitivity, contrast avoidance (i.e., the Contrast Avoidance Questionnaire), and psychological distress. We constructed a series of parallel mediation models to test whether contrast avoidance and anxiety sensitivity mediate the relationships between child maltreatment and psychological distress. CM was related to anxiety and stress indirectly through both contrast avoidance and anxiety sensitivity but was related to depression only through contrast avoidance. There were no significant differences in the magnitude of the indirect effects between contrast avoidance and anxiety sensitivity for the models predicting anxiety and stress. Contrast avoidance and anxiety sensitivity both appear to play important roles in understanding how early experiences of CM relate to psychological distress in young adulthood. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.