Epigenetic Alterations Associated with War Trauma and Childhood Maltreatment

Survivors of war trauma or childhood maltreatment are at increased risk for trauma-spectrum disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In addition, traumatic stress has been associated with alterations in the neuroendocrine and the immune system, enhancing the risk for physical diseases. Traumatic experiences might even affect psychological as well as biological parameters in the next generation, i.e. traumatic stress might have transgenerational effects. This article outlines how epigenetic processes, which represent a pivotal biological mechanism for dynamic adaptation to environmental challenges, might contribute to the explanation of the long-lasting and transgenerational effects of trauma. In particular, epigenetic alterations in genes regulating the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis as well as the immune system have been observed in survivors of childhood and adult trauma. These changes could result in enduring alterations of the stress response as well as the physical health risk. Furthermore, the effects of parental trauma could be transmitted to the next generation by parental distress and the pre- and postnatal environment, as well as by epigenetic marks transmitted via the germline. While epigenetic research has a high potential of advancing our understanding of the consequences of trauma, the findings have to be interpreted with caution, as epigenetics only represent one piece of a complex puzzle of interacting biological and environmental factors. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trauma Models of the Effects of Childhood Maltreatment

Abstract

Trauma models of child maltreatment effects are addressed, with emphasis on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders' diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder and the degree to which it fails to account for many salient symptoms and behaviors associated with maltreatment and victimization in children and adults. Research is presented to support the idea that posttraumatic stress disorder is best conceptualized as a dimensional outcome rather than a categorical all-or-none diagnosis. The PTSD model(s) needs to be either expanded to correct deficiencies or to be integrated into a larger model of the effects of trauma and victimization.     

Trauma in Early Childhood: A Neglected Population

Infants, toddlers and preschoolers are a high risk group for exposure to trauma. Young children are also vulnerable to experiencing adverse outcomes as they are undergoing a rapid developmental period, have limited coping skills and are strongly dependent on their primary caregiver to protect them physically and emotionally. However, although millions of young children experience trauma each year, this population has been largely neglected. Fortunately, over the last 2 decades there has been a growing appreciation of the magnitude of the problem with a small but expanding number of dedicated researchers and clinicians working with this population. This review examines the empirical literature on trauma in young children with regards to the following factors: (1) how trauma reactions typically manifest in young children; (2) history and diagnostic validity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in preschoolers; (3) prevalence, comorbidity and course of trauma reactions; (4) developmental considerations; (5) risk and protective factors; and (6) treatment. The review highlights that there are unique developmental differences in the rate and manifestation of trauma symptomatology, the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., DSM-IV-TR) PTSD criteria is not developmentally sensitive and the impact of trauma must be considered within the context of the parent–child relationship. Recommendations for future research with this population are also discussed.     

Childhood Trauma,Criminogenic Social Schemas,and Violent Crime

ABSTRACT

Utilizing a sample of 400 homeless street youth, the study draws on the social schematic theory of crime to examine if childhood trauma (physical abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect, and sexual abuse) is linked to the development of a criminogenic knowledge structure (CKS) that mediates its relationship with violence. Results indicate childhood trauma is directly associated with the CKS. They also show that it is indirectly related through violent peers. The CKS in turn is directly linked to violence as are childhood trauma and violent peers. The CKS also mediates the relationship childhood trauma and violent peers have with violence. Violent peers likewise mediate the association between childhood trauma and violence. The link between childhood trauma and violence is also serially mediated through violent peers and the CKS. Findings suggest the social schematic theory offers a valuable explanation for the link between childhood trauma and violence.     

Childhood Trauma and Self-Control: The Mediating Role of Depletion Sensitivity

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Previous research demonstrated that childhood trauma was associated with self-control deficit from adolescence to adulthood. However, the underlying mechanism...     

Impact of Depression and Childhood Trauma in Mothers Receiving Home Visitation

Research has documented the deleterious effects of maternal depression and childhood trauma on parenting and child development. There are high rates of both depression and childhood trauma in new mothers participating in home visitation programs, a prevention approach designed to optimize mother and child outcomes. Little is known about the impacts of maternal depression and childhood trauma on parenting in the context of home visitation. This study contrasted depressed and non-depressed mothers enrolled in the first year of a home visitation program on parenting stress, quality of home environment, social network, and psychiatric symptoms. Mothers were young, low income, and predominantly unmarried. Results indicated that depressed mothers displayed impairments in parenting, smaller and less robust social networks, and increased psychiatric symptoms relative to their non-depressed counterparts. Path analyses for the full sample revealed a path linking childhood trauma, depression, and parenting stress. Path analyses by group revealed several differential relationships between dimensions of social network and parenting. Number of embedded networks, namely the number of different domains in which the mother is actively interacting with others, was associated with lowered parenting stress among non-depressed mothers and increased parenting stress in their depressed counterparts with childhood trauma histories. In depressed mothers, social network size was associated with lower levels of parenting stress but decreased quality of the home environment, whereas number of embedded networks was positively related to quality of the home environment. Implications of findings for home visitation programs are discussed.     

Maternal Childhood Sexual Trauma and Early Parenting: Prenatal and Postnatal Associations

Existing research suggests that approximately 19% of females experience childhood sexual trauma (CST). Little is known, however, about the parenting behaviour of mothers who have experienced CST. Using propensity‐matched controls, the present study examines prenatal psychosocial distress, postnatal depressive symptomatology, and caregiving behaviours of women reporting CST at or before the age of 14. Data for these analyses were obtained from mother reports and from observational protocols from a longitudinal study of low‐income, rural families. Propensity score methodology was used to create a contrast group matched on family of origin variables in an effort to isolate and examine the long‐term associations of CST beyond the effects of other childhood adversities such as poverty. Study findings provide evidence that women with CST histories report greater prenatal psychosocial distress compared to women without trauma histories. Findings further provide evidence for a spillover process from prenatal distress to the broader caregiving system including less sensitive parenting through postnatal depressive symptoms for women with CST histories. These results highlight the importance of screening for CST and psychosocial distress and depression prenatally. Interventions for women with CST histories and directions for future study are proposed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Childhood Psychological Trauma and First‐Year College Students' Substance Dependence

First‐year college students (N= 143) completed the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory‐3 and a questionnaire about childhood traumatic experiences. As the number of traumatic experiences increases, so does the likelihood of substance use in college.     

A Multimodal Study of Childhood Trauma and Distress Tolerance in Young Adulthood

Individuals with a history of childhood trauma experience deficits in emotion regulation. However, few studies have investigated childhood trauma and both perceived (i.e., self-report) and behavioral measures of distress tolerance. The current study evaluated associations between childhood trauma (i.e., physical abuse, sexual abuse, and witnessing family violence) and measures of perceived (Distress Tolerance Scale) and behavioral distress tolerance (i.e., Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test, breath-holding). Participants were 320 undergraduate students with a history of interpersonal trauma (e.g., sexual/physical assault). Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate associations between frequency of childhood trauma type and distress tolerance. Greater childhood physical abuse was associated with higher perceived distress tolerance. Greater levels of witnessing family violence were associated with lower behavioral distress tolerance on the breath-holding task. No significant effects were found for Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test performance. Associations between childhood trauma and emotion regulation likely are complex and warrant further study.     

Effects of Racial Discrimination,Childhood Trauma,and Trauma Symptoms on Juvenile Delinquency in African American Incarcerated Youth

To understand racial disproportionality in juvenile delinquency, we studied relationships between 2 possible contributors: effects of manifestations of a structural factor (racism) and psychological consequences of trauma. Informed by Carter’s (2007) theory of race-based trauma, we explored the role of experiences of racial discrimination, childhood trauma, and trauma symptoms in juvenile delinquency through self-reported experiences of incarcerated African American youth. We found that childhood trauma, trauma symptoms, and racial discrimination experiences all significantly contributed to juvenile delinquency, but participants who experienced greater racial discrimination had higher posttraumatic stress symptoms and elevated delinquency rates. Considering the well-documented effects of trauma symptoms on juvenile delinquency, race-based trauma experiences might help us understand one aspect of racial disproportionality in juvenile delinquency.     

Prevalence of Childhood Trauma in a Clinical Population of Transsexual People

ABSTRACT

Few studies have focused on the prevalence and extent of childhood trauma in the transsexual population. In our study of 42 transsexual people (34 = natal males, 8 = natal females), 55% (n = 23) reported experiencing an unwanted sexual event before the age of 18, with the average age of initial sexual contact being 13. This sexual event differs from other clinical populations in that the unwanted sexual experiences in this sample were the consequence of adolescents satisfying their curiosity about the gender of the transsexual rather than for their own sexual gratification. Consequently, the sequalae of the unwanted sexual touches in our sample did not lead to sexualised behaviours described in the sexual abuse literature of clinical samples. Our sample also reported being: verbally abused (77%), insulted (81%), embarrassed in front of others (55%), made to feel guilty by their parents (58%) before their fifteenth birthday.     

Meditative Dialogue: Cultivating Compassion and Empathy with Survivors of Complex Childhood Trauma

Complex childhood trauma often affects the capacities of survivors to experience empathy and compassion toward themselves and others. Recent mindfulness literature recognizes meditation as an evidence-based practice that is able to change the brain, increasing one's capacities for empathy and compassion. This article offers an exploration of selected literature on complex childhood trauma and on mindfulness practices related to the development of compassion and empathy. A case study illustrates the use of a meditative dialogue practice in psychotherapy with a survivor of complex childhood trauma that serves to increase her ability to have empathy and compassion for herself and others.     

Childhood Adversity and the Continued Exposure to Trauma and Violence Among Adolescent Gang Members

This study investigates interfaith groups from across the United States to understand how these religious settings may serve as mediating structures to facilitate individual political action. Based on a multilevel modeling analysis with 169 individuals from 25 interfaith groups, we found that core activities of the group, such as group members sharing community information (e.g., announcing upcoming events, political meetings, community issues) or sharing religious information (e.g., educating members about their religion) positively and negatively predicted individual political action as a result of group participation, respectively. Moreover, a sense that the interfaith group served as a community to work for local change, but not trust within the group, predicted political action as a result of group participation. However, this effect for a sense the group served as a community to work for local change was stronger and more positive as the degree of community information sharing in the group increased. These results show that a core activity of sharing community information may enhance the ability of a group to mediate political action. Overall, these findings demonstrate the potential role of interfaith groups to mediate political action, and show the importance of considering both individual and group characteristics when understanding these religious settings. Limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.     

HPA-Axis Activation as a Key Moderator of Childhood Trauma Exposure and Adolescent Mental Health

Individual differences in a child’s sensitivity to stress may influence whether youth exposed to trauma develop symptoms of psychopathology. We examined the interaction between HPA-axis reactivity to an acute stressor and exposure to different types of childhood trauma as predictors of mental health symptoms in a sample of youth. Youth (n?=?121, ages 9–16; 47% female) completed a standardized stress task, including 5 post-stress salivary cortisol samples. Parents also completed the Child Behavior Checklist as a measure of child internalizing and externalizing symptoms in the past month, and completed the Early Trauma Inventory (ETI) as a measure of their child’s trauma exposure. More emotional abuse and non-intentional trauma were associated with greater internalizing symptoms. Youth exposed to physical abuse who demonstrated slower HPA-axis reactivity had elevated internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Youth exposed to emotional abuse or non-intentional traumatic events who demonstrated faster HPA-axis reactivity had elevated internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Profiles of exaggerated or attenuated HPA-axis reactivity to acute stress may be risk factors for psychopathology in children facing different stressful social environments.     

Betrayal Trauma: Traumatic Amnesia as an Adaptive Response to Childhood Abuse

Betrayal trauma theory suggests that psychogenic amnesia is an adaptive response to childhood abuse. When a parent or other powerful figure violates a fundamental ethic of human relationships, victims may need to remain unaware of the trauma not to reduce suffering but rather to promote survival. Amnesia enables the child to maintain an attachment with a figure vital to survival, development, and thriving. Analysis of evolutionary pressures, mental modules, social cognitions, and developmental needs suggests that the degree to which the most fundamental human ethics are violated can influence the nature, form, and processes of trauma and responses to trauma.     

儿童期创伤对特质抑郁和特质焦虑的影响：图式中介特异性研究

根据Beck的认知内容特异性假说(Cognitive Content Specificity Hypothesis, CCSH), 本研究假设早期适应不良图式(EMSs)在儿童期创伤与特质抑郁和特质焦虑间存在中介效应的特异性。然后对668名大学生施以儿童期创伤问卷(CTQ-SF), Young图式问卷短版(YSQ-SF), 特质抑郁问卷(T-DEP)以及特质焦虑问卷(T-AI), 经中介效应检验程序分析, 结果表明：(1)三类儿童期创伤：情感虐待、情感忽视和躯体忽视与特质抑郁和特质焦虑相关均显著, 且三类创伤与特质抑郁和特质焦虑的相关系数差异不显著; (2)针对三类创伤的中介分析均表明情感剥夺、羞耻、社交孤立/疏离和自我牺牲等与没价值、无能力有关的图式在儿童期创伤和特质抑郁间起中介作用, 而不信任/虐待和对疾病/伤害易感性等与危险有关的图式在儿童期创伤和特质焦虑间起中介作用。结论：早期适应不良图式在儿童期创伤与特质抑郁和特质焦虑间存在中介效应的特异性。     

A Social Learning Perspective on Childhood Trauma and Same‐Sex Intimate Partner Violence

The family violence and childhood trauma literature has suggested that early adverse experiences create risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV). Thus, this study used a sample of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) college students (N = 266) to explore differences among childhood trauma, same‐sex IPV, and IPV acceptance. The authors used survey methodology and multivariate analysis of variance. Results indicated that LGB individuals reporting childhood trauma also reported higher rates of IPV, suggesting implications for research and practice.     

Testing Posttraumatic Stress as a Mediator of Childhood Trauma and Adult Intimate Partner Violence Victimization

This study examined whether potential posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) mediated the relationships between different forms of childhood trauma (sexual abuse, physical abuse, violence between caregivers) and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization (psychological, physical, sexual). Participants were 1,150 female nurses and nursing personnel. Path analytic findings revealed potential PTSD partially mediated the relationships between childhood sexual abuse and psychological IPV and childhood sexual abuse and sexual IPV. Potential PTSD did not mediate the relationship between other types of childhood trauma and IPV. This study adds to the literature indicating PTSD as a risk factor for revictimization in the form of adult IPV among women. Screening for and treatment of PTSD among female child sexual abuse survivors could prevent future IPV victimization.