Relationship between childhood adversity and depression： cumulative effects， sensitive windows， and interactions with later environments
10.11886/scjsws20260205002
- VernacularTitle:童年逆境与抑郁的关联：累积效应、敏感窗口及与后期环境的交互作用
- Author:
Juan WANG
1
;
Xiaojing LI
1
;
Wanjun GUO
1
Author Information
1. Affiliated Mental Health Center， Zhejiang University School of Medicine （Affiliated Hospital of the School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine， Zhejiang University/Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital）， Hangzhou 310007， China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Childhood adversity;
Early life adversity;
Stressful life events;
Depression;
Psychopathological symptoms
- From:
Sichuan Mental Health
2026;39(2):106-111
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Childhood adversity is a risk factor for developing depressive symptoms or suffering from depressive disorders across the life course. However， existing evidence has focused on the analysis of the association between childhood adversity and depression from a single theoretical perspective， and there is a lack of comprehensive understanding of its multiple action pathways. By systematically summarizing the cumulative risk model， sensitive-period model， recency model， risk chain model， and the stress sensitization， stress amplification， and stress inoculation hypotheses， as well as the emerging pubertal stress recalibration hypothesis， this article attempts to construct an integrated theoretical framework to elucidate the internal logical synergy among these models. Furthermore， by reviewing relevant empirical evidence， this article analyzes the applicability and limitations of different theoretical models in illustrating the underlying psychopathological mechanisms of depression. The current evidence suggests that the impact of childhood adversity on the risk of psychopathology may be driven by a complex dynamic process involving the interaction of exposure timing， cumulative load， response boundaries of biological systems， and modification by later environments. Future research should utilize longitudinal cohorts and multimodal data within a unified analytical framework to comprehensively examine the multiple pathways through which childhood adversity affects the risk of depression. This will provide a reference for precisely identifying high-risk populations， targeting "recalibration windows" represented by adolescence， developing focused intervention strategies， and ultimately blocking the cascading effects of early life adversity as early as possible. ［Funded by the "Pioneer" and "Leading Goose" R&D program of Zhejiang Province （number， 2024C03006）］
