How Childhood Sexual Abuse Relates to Major Depressive Disorder in Women Pre and Post-Partum—A Systematic Review Open Access

Abstract

Abstract 

Objective: Depression is extremely common in women during the perinatal period and in women who have experienced childhood sexual abuse. This study reviews studies of the role of childhood sexual abuse in the subsequent development of major depressive disorder in perinatal women, including postpartum women and prepartum women and the psychosocial mechanisms by which early stressors may contribute to adult-onset depression in women, specifically during the perinatal period. 

Methods: The terms “Major Depressive Disorder,” “Childhood Sexual Abuse,” and “Women” were searched within PubMed and resulted in 312 articles. Duplicates were eliminated using the software Sci-wheel and articles were manually sorted by their titles and abstracts for relevance to the topic.  This resulted in a set of seven articles spanning the years of 1995 to January 2023. Data was then extracted from each of the 7 articles that remained after this process. This data was put in the table to show pre partum or postpartum status, location, study design, major findings, the year of the study, and comments on the relevance of the findings to my research.  

Results: Six out of six studies contained studies based on measuring depression in postpartum women while two out of two studies included prepartum women in their depression measurements. Data consisted of thousands of questionnaires that were filled out by mail and in person at clinical institutions across the world. This highlights the significance of the impact of childhood sexual abuse on the risk of depression during both prepartum and postpartum periods. Demographic backgrounds were diverse and included women from different races, socioeconomic levels and urban and suburban lifestyles. 

Discussion: The findings emphasize the value of determining the long-term impacts of childhood sexual abuse on perinatal depressive symptoms in order to guide the creation of treatments for women from all backgrounds. Future research should further evaluate this research question by controlling for demographic differences and determining the effect of external life stressors and a history of childhood sexual abuse in previous generations

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

1. Literature Review…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..1

2. Methods………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………16

3. Results………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….18

3.1. Measures………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….19

3.2. Samples…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….23

3.3. Study Design……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..23

4. Discussion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….28

4.1. Limitations………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..28

4.2. Relevance………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….33

5. Works Cited………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….38

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Sociology
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Sociology, General Psychology, General Health Sciences, Mental Health
Keyword	Mental Health, Depression, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Pregnant Women, Perinatal Period, Prepartum, Postpartum
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Ellen Idler , Emory University
Committee Members	Holli Semetko , Emory University Jeff Mullis, Emory University

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