Childhood trauma (CT) increases the risk of adult depression. Buffering effects require an understanding of the underlying persistent risk pathways. This study examined whether daily psychological stress processes – how an individual interprets and affectively responds to minor everyday events – mediate the effect of CT on adult depressive symptoms.

Middle-aged women (N = 183) reported CT at baseline and completed daily diaries of threat appraisals and negative evening affect for 7 days at baseline, 9, and 18 months. Depressive symptoms were measured across the 1.5-year period. Mediation was examined using multilevel structural equation modeling.

Reported CT predicted greater depressive symptoms over the 1.5-year time period (estimate = 0.27, s.e. = 0.07, 95% CI 0.15–0.38, p < 0.001). Daily threat appraisals and negative affect mediated the effect of reported CT on depressive symptoms (estimate = 0.34, s.e. = 0.08, 95% CI 0.22–0.46, p < 0.001). Daily threat appraisals explained more than half of this effect (estimate = 0.19, s.e. = 0.07, 95% CI 0.08–0.30, p = 0.004). Post hoc analyses in individuals who reported at least moderate severity of CT showed that lower threat appraisals buffered depressive symptoms. A similar pattern was found in individuals who reported no/low severity of CT.

A reported history of CT acts as a latent vulnerability, exaggerating threat appraisals of everyday events, which trigger greater negative evening affect – processes that have important mental health consequences and may provide malleable intervention targets.

童年创伤（CT）会增加成年抑郁症的风险。缓冲效应需要了解潜在的持续风险路径。这项研究检验了日常心理压力过程（个人如何解释和情感地应对日常小事件）是否会介导 CT 对成人抑郁症状的影响。

中年女性 ( N = 183) 在基线时报告了 CT，并在基线时 7 天、第 9 个月和第 18 个月完成了威胁评估和负面夜间情绪的每日日记。对 1.5 年期间的抑郁症状进行了测量。使用多级结构方程模型检查中介作用。

报告的 CT 预测 1.5 年期间抑郁症状会加重（估计值 = 0.27， se = 0.07，95% CI 0.15–0.38， p < 0.001）。每日威胁评估和负面情绪介导了报告的 CT 对抑郁症状的影响（估计值 = 0.34， se = 0.08，95% CI 0.22–0.46， p < 0.001）。每日威胁评估解释了一半以上的影响（估计值 = 0.19， se = 0.07，95% CI 0.08–0.30， p = 0.004）。对报告至少中度 CT 严重程度的个体进行事后分析表明，较低的威胁评估可以缓解抑郁症状。在报告没有或轻度 CT 严重程度的个体中也发现了类似的模式。

报告的 CT 历史充当了潜在的脆弱性，夸大了对日常事件的威胁评估，从而引发更大的负面夜间影响，这些过程会产生重要的心理健康后果，并可能提供可塑的干预目标。