Background: Adverse childhood experiences have been described as one of the major environmental risk factors for depressive disorder. Similarly, the deleterious impact of early traumatic experiences on depression seems to be moderated by individual genetic variability. Serotonin transporter (5-HTT) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) modulate the effect of childhood adversity on adult depression, although inconsistencies across studies have been found. Moreover, the gene×environment (G×E) interaction concerning the different types of childhood adversity remains poorly understood. The aim of this study was to analyse the putative interaction between the 5-HTT gene (5-HTTLPR polymorphism), the BDNF gene (Val66Met polymorphism) and childhood adversity in accounting for adult depressive symptoms.Method: A sample of 534 healthy individuals filled in self-report questionnaires of depressive symptomatology [the Symptom Check List 90 Revised (SCL-90-R)] and different types of childhood adversities [the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ)]. The 5-HTTLPR polymorphism (5-HTT gene) and the Val66Met polymorphism (BDNF gene) were genotyped in the whole sample.Results: Total childhood adversity (β=0.27, p<0.001), childhood sexual abuse (CSA; β=0.17, p<0.001), childhood emotional abuse (β=0.27, p<0.001) and childhood emotional neglect (β=0.22, p<0.001) had an impact on adult depressive symptoms. CSA had a greater impact on depressive symptoms in Met allele carriers of the BDNF gene than in the Val/Val group (F=5.87, p<0.0001), and in S carriers of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism (5-HTT gene) (F=5.80, p<0.0001).Conclusions: Childhood adversity per se predicted higher levels of adult depressive symptoms. In addition, BDNF Val66Met and 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms seemed to moderate the effect of CSA on adult depressive symptoms.

The main objective of the present research was to analyze the relations between stressful life events and the externalizing and internalizing spectra of psychopathology using meta-analytical procedures. After removing the duplicates, a total of 373 papers were found in a literature search using several bibliographic databases, such as the PsycINFO, Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science. Twenty-seven studies were selected for the meta-analytical analysis after applying different inclusion and exclusion criteria in different phases. The statistical procedure was performed using a random/mixed-effects model based on the correlations found in the studies. Significant positive correlations were found in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. A transactional effect was then found in the present study. Stressful life events could be a cause, but also a consequence, of psychopathological spectra. The level of controllability of the life events did not affect the results. Special attention should be given to the usage of stressful life events in gene–environment interaction and correlation studies, and also for clinical purposes.

Background: The well-established relationship between childhood adversity and psychosis is likely to involve other factors such as genetic variants that can help us to understand why not everyone exposed to adverse events develops psychotic symptoms later in life.Aims: We investigated the influence of childhood abuse and neglect on positive and negative psychotic-like experiences in adulthood and the potential moderating effect of the BDNF-Val66Met polymorphism.Method: Psychotic-like experiences and childhood adversity were assessed in 533 individuals from the general population.Results: Childhood abuse showed a strong independent effect on the positive dimension of psychotic-like experiences (β = 0.16, s.e. = 0.05, P = 0.002). Furthermore, this association was moderated by the BDNF-Val66Met polymorphism (β = 0.27, s.e. = 0.10, P = 0.004).Conclusions: Individuals exposed to childhood abuse are more likely to report positive psychotic-like experiences. Met carriers reported more positive psychotic-like experiences when exposed to childhood abuse than did individuals carrying the Val/Val genotype. Therefore, the observed gene–environment interaction effect may be partially responsible for individual variation in response to childhood abuse.

Aims: This paper had three aims: (1) to validate a Spanish adaptation of the Modified Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (M DMQ-R), (2) to explore the relationship of each drinking motive with different patterns of alcohol use, and (3) to compare the drinking motives of moderate drinkers, heavy drinkers, and alcohol abusing/dependent individuals. Methods: Two studies were carried out. In Study 1, a sample of 488 participants completed the M DMQ-R and a self-report scale of alcohol consumption in order to study the factor structure and different indices of reliability and validity of the Spanish M DMQ-R. In Study 2, we compared the drinking motives of moderate and heavy drinkers from Study 1 and an additional sample of 59 clinical drinkers. Results: The M DMQ-R demonstrated sound reliability and validity indices. Coping-with-anxiety, social, and enhancement motives predicted higher alcohol use on weekends, but only coping-with-anxiety and social motives were related to consumption on weekdays. Furthermore, moderate drinkers had the lowest scores for all motives, whereas alcohol-dependent participants obtained the highest scores for negative reinforcement drinking motives. Conclusion: The Spanish M DMQ-R is a reliable and valid measure of drinking motives and has potential for assisting with treatment planning for problem drinkers.