ABSTRACT Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has been linked to a wide range of negative outcomes, including the development of low impulse control in adulthood. Because previous studies have identified impulsivity as a robust predictor of antisocial and criminal behaviors, CSA may be an important early-in-life risk factor to consider. But the pathway between CSA and impulsivity is not well understood. Research suggests CSA is an important predictor of various forms of psychopathology, such as depression and suicidal thoughts. Pulling this all together, we investigated the possibility that CSA impacts depression and suicidal thoughts and that those experiences go on to affect the development and manifestation of impulse control in adulthood. We drew on a nationally representative sample of adolescents and adults (Add Health) to test the pathways by which CSA might affect impulse control. We found that CSA negatively influences impulse control, and that depression and suicidal thoughts may mediate this relationship. Our findings highlight the importance of trauma-oriented interventions for survivors of CSA – on top of their other benefits, such interventions may have an influence on the development of impulse control later in life.

中文翻译：

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将痛苦带给成年：童年性虐待通过抑郁和自杀念头对成年冲动控制的影响

摘要儿童期性虐待（CSA）与广泛的负面结果有关，包括成人期冲动控制的发展。由于先前的研究已将冲动性确定为反社会和犯罪行为的有力预测因素，因此CSA可能是要考虑的重要生命早期危险因素。但是，人们对CSA和冲动之间的关系还知之甚少。研究表明，CSA是各种形式的心理病理学（例如抑郁症和自杀念头）的重要预测指标。综合所有这些，我们研究了CSA影响抑郁症和自杀念头的可能性，这些经历继续影响成年冲动控制的发展和表现。我们采用了具有全国代表性的青少年和成人样本（增加健康状况），以测试CSA可能影响冲动控制的途径。我们发现，CSA对冲动控制有负面影响，抑郁和自杀念头可能会介导这种关系。我们的研究结果突显了针对CSA幸存者的以创伤为导向的干预措施的重要性-除其他益处外，此类干预措施可能会影响到生活中冲动控制的发展。