Parental socioeconomic status modifies the association of traumatic experiences with depressive symptoms among Chinese children and adolescents

Depressive symptoms and traumatic experiences are major public health concerns among children and adolescents. While exposure to trauma and low parental socioeconomic status (SES) are established independent risk factors for depression, their interactive associations remain less well understood. This study examined whether the association between different types of trauma and depressive symptoms varied according to parental SES in a large sample of Chinese children and adolescents. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 2081 students from 12 purposively selected primary, junior, and senior middle schools in Wuhan, China, using a cluster sampling method. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Children’s Depression Inventory. Data on recent traumatic experiences and parental SES (based on education and occupation) were collected. Additive interaction analysis was used to evaluate the additive interaction between SES and trauma. Clinically significant depressive symptoms were identified in 28.2% of participants, and 39.2% reported at least one traumatic experience in the past six months. Both low SES and trauma exposure were independently associated with depressive symptoms. Moreover, low SES demonstrated significant positive additive interaction with exposure to any trauma (relative excess risk due to interaction [ RERI ] = 3.35, P < 0.001), physical abuse ( RERI = 13.24, P = 0.020), emotional abuse ( RERI = 4.00, P < 0.001), and school victimization ( RERI = 10.65, P = 0.012). These findings suggest that the associations of specific traumas—particularly physical abuse, emotional abuse, and school victimization—with depressive symptoms were stronger among children and adolescents with low parental SES. Children and adolescents experiencing both socioeconomic disadvantage and trauma exposure may represent a subgroup with a higher burden of depressive symptoms and may warrant prioritization in prevention and support efforts.