Objective 

The effects of trauma exposure on depression risk and severity are well established, but psychosocial and biological factors that impact or explain those relationships remain poorly understood. This study examined the moderating and mediating effects of perceived control and inflammation in the relationship between trauma and depression.

Methods 

Moderation analyses and longitudinal mediation analyses were conducted on data from 945 adults who completed all three waves (spanning around 19 years) of the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) study and the MIDUS Biomarker Study. Data were collected during a phone interview, self-report surveys distributed in the mail, and an in-person blood draw. Two dimensions of perceived control—mastery and constraints—were examined separately in all analyses.

Results 

Perceived control did not significantly moderate the relationship between trauma and depression severity at MIDUS 2 (b = 0.03, SE = .02, p = .091). Constraints significantly mediated the relationship between trauma and MIDUS 3 depression (indirect effect = 0.03, SE = 0.01, p = .016) but not after accounting for MIDUS 2 depression. Perceived control did not have a significant moderating effect in the relationships between trauma and inflammation or inflammation and depression.

Conclusions 

Findings from this study revealed that perceived control may be better characterized as an explanatory factor rather than a buffer in trauma-associated depression. Perceived constraints in particular may be a useful treatment target for trauma-associated depression. Further research is needed to examine whether these results generalize to populations other than among mostly non-Hispanic White adults in the United States.