Childhood maltreatment is linked to larger preferred interpersonal distances towards friends and strangers across the globe

Shilat Haim-Nachum; Marie R Sopp; Antonia M Lüönd; Nimrah Afzal; Fredrik Åhs; Antje-Kathrin Allgaier; Adrián Arévalo; Christian Asongwe; Rahel Bachem; Stefanie R Balle; Habte Belete; Tilahun Belete Mossie; Azi Berzengi; Necip Capraz; Deniz Ceylan; Daniel Dukes; Aziz Essadek; Natalia E Fares-Otero; Sarah L Halligan; Alla Hemi; Naved Iqbal; Laura Jobson; Einat Levy-Gigi; Chantal Martin-Soelch; Tanja Michael; Misari Oe; Miranda Olff; Helena Örnkloo; Krithika Prakash; Sarah M Quaatz; Vijaya Raghavan; Muniarajan Ramakrishnan; Dorota Reis; Vedat Şar; Ulrich Schnyder; Soraya Seedat; Ibtihal Najm Shihab; Susilkumar Vandhana; Dany Laure Wadji; Rachel Wamser; Reut Zabag; Georgina Spies; Monique C Pfaltz

doi:10.1038/s41398-024-02980-2

Childhood maltreatment is linked to larger preferred interpersonal distances towards friends and strangers across the globe

Transl Psychiatry. 2024 Aug 23;14(1):339. doi: 10.1038/s41398-024-02980-2.

Authors

Shilat Haim-Nachum^#^{1

2}, Marie R Sopp^#^{1

3}, Antonia M Lüönd^{4

5}, Nimrah Afzal⁶, Fredrik Åhs⁷, Antje-Kathrin Allgaier⁸, Adrián Arévalo^{9

10}, Christian Asongwe¹¹, Rahel Bachem¹², Stefanie R Balle⁸, Habte Belete¹³, Tilahun Belete Mossie¹³, Azi Berzengi¹⁴, Necip Capraz¹⁵, Deniz Ceylan¹⁶, Daniel Dukes¹⁷, Aziz Essadek^{18

19}, Natalia E Fares-Otero^{20

21}, Sarah L Halligan^{6

22

23}, Alla Hemi¹, Naved Iqbal²⁴, Laura Jobson²⁵, Einat Levy-Gigi^{1

26}, Chantal Martin-Soelch²⁷, Tanja Michael³, Misari Oe²⁸, Miranda Olff^{29

30}, Helena Örnkloo⁷, Krithika Prakash³¹, Sarah M Quaatz⁸, Vijaya Raghavan³², Muniarajan Ramakrishnan⁷, Dorota Reis³³, Vedat Şar¹⁶, Ulrich Schnyder⁴, Soraya Seedat^{23

34

35}, Ibtihal Najm Shihab³⁶, Susilkumar Vandhana^{37

38}, Dany Laure Wadji^{27

39}, Rachel Wamser⁴⁰, Reut Zabag^{41

42}, Georgina Spies^{23

34

35}, Monique C Pfaltz^{43

44}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
² Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, USA.
³ Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany.
⁴ Department of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁵ Department of Adult Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁶ Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK.
⁷ Department of Psychology and Social Work, Mid Sweden University, Östersund, Sweden.
⁸ Department of Psychology, University of the Bundeswehr Munich, Munich, Germany.
⁹ Universidad de Piura, Facultad de Medicina, Lima, Peru.
¹⁰ Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Facultad de Medicina "San Fernando", Lima, Peru.
¹¹ Department of History, Faculty of Arts, University of Bamenda, Bamenda, Cameroon.
¹² Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
¹³ Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
¹⁴ Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Therapies, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
¹⁵ Private Practice, Istanbul, Turkey.
¹⁶ Department of Psychiatry, Koç University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
¹⁷ Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
¹⁸ Interpsy EA4432, University of Lorraine, Nancy, France.
¹⁹ Hôpitaux de Saint-Maurice, Saint-Maurice, France.
²⁰ Bipolar and Depressive Disorders Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Hospital Clínic, Institute of Neurosciences (UBNeuro), Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
²¹ Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica (FCRB), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Network Centre for Biomedical Research in Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Health Institute Carlos III (ISCIII), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
²² Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
²³ Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
²⁴ Department of Psychology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India.
²⁵ School of Psychological Sciences, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Clayton, Australia.
²⁶ The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
²⁷ Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.
²⁸ Department of Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, Kurume University, Kurume, Japan.
²⁹ Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Neuroscience & Public Health, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
³⁰ ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre, Diemen, The Netherlands.
³¹ Department of Psychology, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, USA.
³² Schizophrenia Research Foundation, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
³³ Research Group Applied Statistical Modeling, Department of Psychology, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany.
³⁴ South African Research PTSD Programme of Excellence, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
³⁵ South African Medical Research Council / Stellenbosch University Genomics of Brain Disorders Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
³⁶ Al-Kitab University, Kirkuk, Iraq.
³⁷ Kanchi Kamakoti CHILDS Trust Hospital (KKCTH), Nungambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
³⁸ Saveetha Medical College and Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical & Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Thandalam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
³⁹ Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
⁴⁰ Psychological Sciences Faculty, University of Missouri - St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
⁴¹ Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
⁴² Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
⁴³ Department of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. [email protected].
⁴⁴ Department of Psychology and Social Work, Mid Sweden University, Östersund, Sweden. [email protected].

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is thought to be associated with altered responses to social stimuli and interpersonal signals. However, limited evidence exists that CM is linked to larger comfortable interpersonal distance (CID) - the physical distance humans prefer towards others during social interactions. However, no previous study has investigated this association in a comprehensive sample, yielding sufficient statistical power. Moreover, preliminary findings are limited to the European region. Finally, it is unclear how CM affects CID towards different interaction partners, and whether CID is linked to social functioning and attachment. To address these outstanding issues, adults (N = 2986) from diverse cultures and socio-economic strata completed a reaction time task measuring CID towards an approaching stranger and friend. Higher CM was linked to a larger CID towards both friends and strangers. Moreover, insecure attachment and less social support were associated with larger CID. These findings demonstrate for the first time that CM affects CID across countries and cultures, highlighting the robustness of this association.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / psychology
Female
Friends* / psychology
Humans
Interpersonal Relations*
Male
Middle Aged
Object Attachment
Psychological Distance
Reaction Time
Social Interaction
Social Support
Young Adult