ABSTRACT
ANNE-LAURA VAN HARMELEN, KIRSTEN HAUBER, BREGTJE GUNTHER MOOR, PHILIP SPINHOVEN, ALBERT E. BOON, EVELINE A. CRONE, AND BERNET M. ELZINGA
6.1 INTRODUCTION
Chronic parental rejection can be considered a core aspect of Childhood Emotional Maltreatment (CEM; emotional abuse and/or emotional neglect) [1]. For instance, during episodes of CEM, children may be ignored, isolated, or siblings may be favored. CEM has severe and persistent adverse effects on behavior and emotion in adulthood [2], and CEM is a potent predictor of depressive and anxiety disorders in later life [3], [4]. Social rejection, ranging from active isolation to ignoring basic emotional needs, may enhance sensitivity towards future rejection [5]. Along these
lines, individuals reporting CEM may be especially sensitive to (perceived) social rejection. Individuals high in rejection sensitivity have a tendency to expect, perceive, and overreact to social rejection, and show enhanced distress and related neural responses to social rejection in the lab [5]. Furthermore, rejection sensitivity (both behaviourally and in terms of brain responses) is positively related to the development and maintenance of depression, social anxiety, and borderline personality disorder symptoms [6], [7]. Therefore, enhanced distress and neural responses to (perceived) social rejection may be one of the mechanisms through which a history of CEM may predispose individuals to the development of depressive and anxiety disorders in later life. However, the subjective and neural responses to social rejection in individuals reporting CEM are currently unknown.
