We hypothesized that child abuse (CA) will be associated with decreased
social (e.g., high social support, low social conflict) and personal
(e.g., self-efficacy, self esteem) resources in adulthood, which in
turn, would increase risk for current depression and PTSD symptoms.
Participants were inner-city women (N = 650). CA significantly predicted
PTSD, and decreased social and personal resources, but did not predict
depression. Social resources, but not personal resources directly
predicted PTSD and depression. Social resources significantly mediated
the CA-PTSD and CA-depression relationships. Personal resources impacted
depression and PTSD only through their significant relationship with
social resources. Ethnic differences on these models were also observed.
Depression and PTSD mediated the association between CA and resources,
in reversed models. Overall, results suggest a bidirectional
relationship between resources and psychopathology, which may be
mutually reinforcing and cyclically related over time.