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The relationship between memories for childhood teasing and anxiety and depression in adulthood
Deborah A Roth1, Meredith E Coles, Richard G Heimberg
1Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Psychiatry, 3535 Market St., 6th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. droth3@mail.med.upenn.edu
Abstract:
This study explored the relationship between memories for childhood teasing and anxiety and depression in adulthood. A Teasing Questionnaire (TQ) was developed that measured the degree to which people recall having been teased about 20 different topics during childhood. The TQ was completed by a sample of 514 undergraduates who also completed established measures of anxiety and depression. A one-factor model best accounted for the variance in TQ scores, and the total score was shown to have strong internal consistency. Scores on the TQ were significantly and positively related to scores on measures of current depression, trait anxiety, social anxiety, and anxiety sensitivity. Tests of dependent correlations showed that remembering having been teased during childhood was not differentially related to depression and trait anxiety in adulthood. However, differential relationships between reports of teasing and specific forms of anxiety were shown. Limitations of the study were discussed, as were suggestions for future research in the more general arena of childhood peer relations and adult psychopathology.