This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to comprehensively describe whether experiencing a variety of childhood maltreatment types predicts a variety of substance use/misuse types among youth, beyond the narrow scope covered in previous systematic reviews on similar topics. A literature search was conducted in June, 2022 using PubMed, PsycInfo, and Embase. 58 studies (total participant n=170,749) were included. These studies were primarily organized by substance type outcomes including alcohol (n=43), cannabis (n=25), unspecified substances (n=25), and other specific substances (n=10). Results were further stratified by maltreatment type. For specific maltreatment and substance type combinations, the majority of studies indicated that childhood maltreatment was a significant predictor of substance use/misuse in youth. Of the 10 meta-analyses we conducted, significant associations were found for the majority (9/10) of maltreatment and substance type combinations. For instance, unspecified childhood maltreatment increased the probability of youth alcohol use by about four times, which was the highest relative risk found. In conclusion, this study shows that childhood maltreatment is a predictor of youth substance use/misuse.

BACKGROUND: Childhood maltreatment contributes to a large mental health burden worldwide. Different measures of childhood maltreatment are not equivalent and may capture meaningful differences. In particular, prospective and retrospective measures of maltreatment identify different groups of individuals and are differentially associated with psychopathology. However, the reasons behind these discrepancies have not yet been comprehensively mapped.
METHODS: In this review, we draw on multi-disciplinary research and present an integrated framework to explain maltreatment measurement disagreement.
RESULTS: We identified three interrelated domains. First, methodological issues related to measurement and data collection methods. Second, the role of memory in influencing retrospective reports of maltreatment. Finally, the motivations individuals may have to disclose, withhold, or fabricate information about maltreatment.
CONCLUSIONS: A greater understanding of maltreatment measurement disagreement may point to new ways to conceptualise and assess maltreatment. Furthermore, it may help uncover mechanisms underlying maltreatment-related psychopathology and targets for novel interventions.

Child maltreatment is a widespread global issue involving any form of harm or neglect by a parent or caregiver, leading to various forms of physical or emotional damage, with approximately 150 million affected children globally. This study discusses the potential mechanism of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction and cortisol hormone changes in linking child maltreatment to mental health disorders. It also discusses supportive strategies to prevent mental diseases and counteract the biological embedding of these conditions, emphasizing the need for comprehensive interventions to address the long-term impact of child maltreatment on mental health. Articles were selected using established methods previously described. Key information was obtained from scientific articles published during the past 20 years, including original studies, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. Articles search was performed using top academic search engines. While research on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response to stress in maltreated children is ongoing and far from conclusive, its impact and implications for physiological functioning and the predisposition to psychopathology are significant. Childhood maltreatment increases the risk of psychiatric illnesses, severity of diseases, and poor treatment responses. Childhood maltreatment manifests as disruptions to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning, with the extent varying based on factors, such as the age of onset, parental responsiveness, and the type and characteristics of maltreatment. The complex interplay of these factors contributes to the diversity of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responses to stress in maltreated children, creating a spectrum of physiological functioning and vulnerability to psychopathology.

This systematic review aimed to summarize the evidence on the existence of a distinct phenotypic expression of Eating Disorders (EDs) associated with childhood maltreatment (CM), the so-called maltreated eco-phenotype of EDs. PRISMA standards were followed. Articles providing data about the characteristics of individuals with an ED reporting CM were included. Relevant results were extracted and summarized. A quality assessment was performed. A total of 1207 records were identified and screened, and 97 articles published between 1994 and 2023 were included. Findings revealed distinct biological and clinical features in patients with EDs reporting CM, including neuroanatomical changes, altered stress responses, ghrelin levels, inflammation markers, and gut microbiota composition. Clinically, CM correlated with severer eating behaviors, higher psychiatric comorbidity, impulsivity, emotional dysregulation, and risky behaviors. Additionally, CM was associated with poorer treatment outcomes, especially in general psychopathology and psychiatric comorbidities. This review highlighted the need to move towards an etiologically informed nosography, recognizing CM not merely as a risk factor, but also as an etiologic agent shaping different eco-phenotypic variants of EDs.

Childhood trauma can have negative effects on several domains of mental functioning, including Autobiographical Memory (AM). Conflicting results emerge in the scientific literature regarding the effects of childhood trauma on AM. In this review, we explored the relationship between the childhood trauma and AM, classifying childhood trauma as interpersonal, non-interpersonal and overall (interpersonal and non-interpersonal). We carried out a systematic literature review, following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA statement). From searching the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, we identified 48 studies conducted from 2014 to 2023, which were included when they: (a) were written in English, (b) investigated the relationship between AM and childhood trauma, (c) included a sample of children, adolescents, or adults who had experienced childhood interpersonal and/or non-interpersonal trauma. Of the 48 eligible studies, 29 referred to trauma of an interpersonal nature, 12 to trauma of a non-interpersonal nature, and 7 to overall trauma. Regarding the relationship between childhood trauma and AM, 24 studies found a negative relationship between childhood interpersonal trauma and AM; among the articles on non-interpersonal trauma, 10 studies found no relevant relationship; in the studies on overall trauma, 4 articles found negative relationship between overall trauma and AM. The literature explored in our systematic review supports the prevalence of a negative relationship between interpersonal childhood trauma and AM. This relationship is present regardless of psychiatric disorders (e.g., Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Personality Disorders), and in the presence of the latter, AM results even more fragmented. Future research should use more accurate methodologies in identifying and classifying childhood trauma in order to more precisely determine its effect on AM.

UNASSIGNED: Studies report an elevated risk of maltreatment in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and elevated levels of ADHD in people who suffered childhood maltreatment (CM). However, the direction(s) of causality between CM and ADHD remain unclear-does ADHD create a context for CM, does CM cause ADHD, or both?
UNASSIGNED: This study systematically reviews and qualitatively synthesizes the research evidence relating to this question using Bradford-Hill criteria for establishing causality-strength, temporality, dose-response and plausibility.
UNASSIGNED: We conducted a systematic review, following PRISMA guidelines, of prospective longitudinal studies examining both CM and ADHD. We then used Bradford-Hill criteria to assess the quality of evidence for a causal link between CM and ADHD.
UNASSIGNED: All 11 included studies demonstrated an association between CM and ADHD. Seven included evidence for temporality: five suggesting that CM precedes ADHD in the lifespan; two suggesting ADHD precedes CM. Four studies demonstrated a dose response relationship in which greater CM exposure was associated with elevated risk of ADHD. Studies presented a range of plausible mechanisms, including CM causing ADHD through biological programming, versus ADHD causing CM through parental stress.
UNASSIGNED: The high quality prospective longitudinal studies reviewed confirm the association between ADHD and CM, but present conflicting evidence about the direction of causality and mechanisms underpinning this association. To better understand the complex interplay between CM and ADHD, more studies using new research designs will be required that can partition effects by type of CM and account for bidirectional effects and other complexities.

Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) has the potential to shed light on how childhood abuse and neglect relates to negative psychiatric outcomes. However, a comprehensive review of the impact of childhood maltreatment on the brain\'s resting state functional organization has not yet been undertaken. We systematically searched rsFC studies in children and youth exposed to maltreatment. Nineteen studies (total n = 3079) met our inclusion criteria. Two consistent findings were observed. Childhood maltreatment was linked to reduced connectivity between the anterior insula and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and with widespread heightened amygdala connectivity with key structures in the salience, default mode, and prefrontal regulatory networks. Other brain regions showing altered connectivity included the ventral anterior cingulate cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus. These patterns of altered functional connectivity associated with maltreatment exposure were independent of symptoms, yet comparable to those seen in individuals with overt clinical disorder. Summative findings indicate that rsFC alterations associated with maltreatment experience are related to poor cognitive and social functioning and are prognostic of future symptoms. In conclusion, maltreatment is associated with altered rsFC in emotional reactivity, regulation, learning, and salience detection brain circuits. This indicates patterns of recalibration of putative mechanisms implicated in maladaptive developmental outcomes.

Exposure to trauma during childhood is a non-specific risk factor for psychiatric disorders, including eating disorders (EDs), over the life course. Moreover, an association between stressful life events and the onset/maintenance of EDs has been documented. Therefore, the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, namely the main component of the endogenous stress response system, has been proposed to be implicated in the pathophysiology of EDs. In this narrative review the current knowledge concerning the effects of early trauma exposure on the HPA axis activity and their putative role in the pathophysiology of EDs will be illustrated. Research findings corroborate the idea that childhood trauma exposure has long-lasting dysregulating effects on the activity of the HPA axis, which may contribute to the biological background of the early trauma-related risk for the development of EDs across the life span. Moreover, literature data support the existence of a \"maltreated ecophenotype\" in EDs characterized by specific clinic and neuroendocrine features, which may have important implications in treatment programming for such a type of patients.

The parent-infant relationship is critical for socioemotional development and is adversely impacted by perinatal substance use. This systematic review posits that the mechanisms underlying these risks to mother-infant relationships center on 3 primary processes: (1) mothers\' childhood maltreatment experiences; (2) attachment styles and consequent internal working models of interpersonal relationships; and (3) perinatal substance use. Further, the review considers the role of hyperkatifeia, or hypersensitivity to negative affect which occurs when people with substance use disorders are not using substances, and which drives the negative reinforcement in addiction. The authors performed a systematic review of articles (published 2000-2022) related to these constructs and their impact on mother-infant relationships and offspring outcomes, including original clinical research articles addressing relationships between these constructs, and excluding case studies, reviews, non-human animal studies, intervention studies, studies with fewer than 30% female-sex participants, clinical guidelines, studies limited to obstetric outcomes, mechanistic/biological studies, and studies with methodological issues precluding interpretation. Overall 1844 articles were screened, 377 were selected for full text review, and data were extracted from 157 articles. Results revealed strong relationships between mothers\' childhood maltreatment experiences, less optimal internal working models, and increased risk for perinatal substance use, and importantly, all of these predictors interacted with hyperkatifeia and exerted a marked impact on mother-infant relationships with less data available on offspring outcomes. These data strongly support the need for future studies addressing the additive impact of maternal childhood maltreatment experiences, suboptimal internal working models, and perinatal substance use, with hyperkatifeia as a potential moderator, and their interacting effects on mother-infant socioemotional outcomes.

During the past decade, research on the association between childhood maltreatment (CM) and gratitude has been accumulating, but there is a lack of systematic, quantitative evaluation of existing literature. The present systematic review aims to fill this gap by conducting a three-level meta-analysis. After a comprehensive search in five English and three Chinese databases, we retrieved 33 effect sizes from 16 studies with a total sample of 13,818 participants. The results showed that CM (aggregated across forms) was negatively and moderately linked to gratitude (r = -.311, 95% CI [-0.382, -0.235], p < .001). Childhood neglect (i.e., physical and emotional neglect) exhibited more substantial effects on gratitude than emotional abuse, while the effects of childhood physical and sexual abuse were insignificant. In addition, the mean effect sizes were larger in studies with younger samples. However, the effect did not vary as functions of CM measurement, methodological rigor, whether the sample included college students only, publication type, or region of the sample. Last, we highlighted the limitations of existing research, proposed agendas for future studies, and discussed practical implications.