Assessing the factor structure of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and cumulative effect of abuse and neglect on mental health among adolescents in conflict-affected Burundi

Confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the responses to the Dutch version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form from a sample of 123 female indoor sex workers in The Netherlands. Results indicate the expected five-factor structure fit the data well. In line with Bernstein and others, the instrument was a valid measure of retrospective childhood abuse and neglect in this sample.

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Early traumatic experiences and their relationship with the emergence of depressive symptoms in adulthood

Psychological Thought ◽

10.5964/psyct.v12i1.342 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 30-40

Author(s):

Eglantina Dervishi ◽

Elisabeta Mujaj ◽

Silva Ibrahimi

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Childhood Trauma ◽

Emotional Abuse ◽

Short Form ◽

Linear Regression Analysis ◽

Traumatic Experiences ◽

Childhood Trauma Questionnaire ◽

Minimum Age ◽

Physical Neglect

The aim of this study was the exploration of early traumatic experiences related to emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional and physical neglect, as well as the connection of the dimensions of these early traumatic experiences with the experiencing of depressive symptoms in adulthood. A sample of 331 University students in Tirana, 60 males (N = 60) or 18.1% and 271 females (N = 271) or 81.9% completed the online Beck Inventory for Depression (BDI), and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF). The minimum age of the youth participating in the study was 18 years and the maximum age was 32 years, with an average of 20 years (M = 20.07) and the standard deviation (SD = 1.5). Descriptive, correlational and linear regression analysis were used for data processing through the SPSS 22. The study confirmed the connection between early traumatic experiences and the appearance of depressive symptoms in adulthood (r(329) = .333, p < .001). Among the dimensions of early traumatic experiences, it seems that a stronger connection with the occurrence of depressive symptoms relates to the size of emotional trauma. The size of child sexual trauma is connected to feelings of punishment and suicidal thoughts in adulthood. Early traumatic experiences seem to have a significant impact on how adults express themselves and choose to interact with their environment. Coping with problems of mental health and depression today can be closely related to the early traumatic experiences of juveniles and adults.

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Cumulative childhood trauma and complex psychiatric symptoms in pregnant women and expecting men

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth ◽

10.1186/s12884-021-04327-x ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Julia Garon-Bissonnette ◽

Marie-Ève Grisé Bolduc ◽

Roxanne Lemieux ◽

Nicolas Berthelot

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Childhood Trauma ◽

Psychiatric Symptoms ◽

Anger Expression ◽

Simultaneous Presentation ◽

Childhood Trauma Questionnaire ◽

Distress Scale ◽

Psychiatric Problems

Abstract Background Women and men having been exposed to childhood trauma would be at high risk of various mental health symptoms while awaiting a child. This study aimed to evaluate the association between cumulative childhood trauma and the accumulation of symptoms belonging to different psychiatric problems in pregnant women and expecting men. Methods We first examined prevalence rates of childhood trauma across our samples of 2853 pregnant women and 561 expecting men from the community. Second, we evaluated the association between cumulative childhood trauma and symptom complexity (i.e., the simultaneous presentation of symptoms belonging to multiple psychiatric problems) using subsamples of 1779 pregnant women and 118 expecting men. Participants completed self-reported measures of trauma (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire) and psychiatric symptoms (PTSD Checklist for DSM-5; Kessler Psychological Distress Scale; State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2; Self and Interpersonal Functioning Scale). Results Trauma was more frequent in pregnant women than in expecting men and in participants reporting sociodemographic risk factors than in those not reporting any. A dose-response relationship was observed between the number of different traumas reported by pregnant women and expecting men and the complexity of their psychiatric symptoms, even when controlling for the variance explained by other risk factors. Women having been exposed to cumulative childhood trauma were 4.95 times more at risk of presenting comorbid psychiatric problems during pregnancy than non-exposed women. Conclusions Childhood trauma is frequent in the general population of pregnant women and expecting men and is associated with symptom complexity during the antenatal period. These findings call for delivering and evaluating innovative trauma-informed antenatal programs to support mental health and adaptation to parenthood in adults having been exposed to childhood trauma.

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