The impact of childhood trauma on short video addiction: psychological and morphological correlates

This study explored the relationship between childhood trauma and short-video addiction (SVA) symptoms, alongside exploring the potential morphological substrate underlying this association. Among three independent datasets (Dataset 1: n = 980; Dataset 2: n = 1260; Dataset 3: n = 190), we found consistent positive correlations between childhood trauma and SVA symptoms, particularly in emotion abuse and physical neglect sub-dimensions. Additionally, we identified differential patterns in high- and low-risk addiction groups, with emotional neglect playing a critical role in the development of addiction, especially among low-risk individuals. Structural MRI data were collected in dataset 3, univariate analysis revealed that gray matter volumes (GMV) in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), orbitofrontal cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, frontal pole, and superior temporal gyrus were positively correlated with SVA symptoms. Within this dataset, mediation analysis showed that GMV in the dlPFC mediated the effect of physical neglect on SVA symptoms, suggesting that childhood trauma, particularly physical neglect, influences SVA symptoms through GMV strength in prefrontal cortex. These findings emphasize the critical role of childhood trauma in the development of short video addiction and underscore the need for targeted interventions addressing both psychological and neural aspects of addiction.