中国科学院心理健康重点实验室知识库

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that affects brain function and family well-being and is associated with child abuse and neglect. This study aimed to explore the relationship between childhood maltreatment, social support, and depressive symptoms in methamphetamine-dependent patients. A total of 528 male methamphetamine-dependent patients were recruited from a drug rehabilitation center in China and assessed for childhood trauma, social support, and depression. We used the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) scale to measure patients' history of childhood trauma, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to measure patients' depressive symptoms, and the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) to measure patients' level of social support. 56.25% of the methamphetamine-dependent patients experienced at least one type of childhood maltreatment. Compared to those patients without childhood maltreatment, patients with childhood maltreatment had lower levels of social support and higher levels of depressive symptoms. Mediation analyses revealed that subjective support and utilization of support significantly mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and depressive symptoms. The findings suggest that social support is an important factor in the link between childhood maltreatment and depression, and highlight the need to provide tailored interventions for methamphetamine-dependent individuals with a history of childhood maltreatment.