A longitudinal study examining the associations between interpersonal trauma and romantic relationships among college students

We examined the associations between the developmental timing of interpersonal trauma exposure (IPT) and three indicators of involvement in and quality of romantic relationships in emerging adulthood: relationship status, relationship satisfaction, and partner alcohol use. We further examined whether these associations varied in a sex-specific manner. In a sample of emerging adult college students (N = 12,358; 61.5% female) assessed longitudinally across the college years, we found precollege IPT increased the likelihood of being in a relationship, while college-onset IPT decreased the likelihood. Precollege and college-onset IPT predicted lower relationship satisfaction, and college-onset IPT predicted higher partner alcohol use. There was no evidence that associations between IPT and relationship characteristics varied in a sex-specific manner. Findings indicate that IPT exposure, and the developmental timing of IPT, may affect college students’ relationship status. Findings also suggest that IPT affects their ability to form satisfying relationships with prosocial partners.

Interpersonal Trauma Among Women and Men Receiving Buprenorphine in Outpatient Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder

People with opioid use disorder (OUD) are vulnerable to negative health outcomes related to substance use and psychosocial issues, such as interpersonal trauma (IPT). Participants receiving buprenorphine completed a cross-sectional survey (July–September 2019). OUD outcomes were prospectively abstracted over a 28-week timeframe. More than a third reported recent IPT (40% women, 36% men). Sexual violence was more common among women than men ( p = .02). For women only, IPT was associated with substance use during follow-up (β = 20.72, 95% CI: 4.24, 37.21). It is important for public health strategies in the opioid crisis to address IPT using sex- and gender-informed approaches.

Interpersonal trauma and its relation to childhood psychopathic traits: what does ADHD and ODD add to the equation?

Background Childhood trauma has demonstrated associations with callous-unemotional traits (e.g., reflecting lack of remorse and guilt, unconcern about own performance). Less is known about associations between trauma and multiple domains of child psychopathic traits. There has also been limited focus on the role of co-occurring disorders to psychopathy traits among children, namely, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and how they interact with childhood trauma. Methods We examined to what degree childhood interpersonal trauma can predict parent-rated psychopathic traits in a large population based Swedish twin sample (N = 5057), using a stringent definition of interpersonal trauma occurring before age 10. Two hundred and fifty-one participants met the interpersonal trauma criteria for analysis. The study explored the additional impact of traits of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Results Linear regressions demonstrated statistically significant but clinically negligible effects of interpersonal trauma on total and subscale scores of parent-rated psychopathic traits. When exploring interaction effects of ADHD and ODD into the model, the effect increased. There were interaction effects between ODD and trauma in relation to psychopathic traits, suggesting a moderating role of ODD. Having been exposed to trauma before age 10 was significantly associated with higher parent rated psychopathy traits as measured by The Child Problematic Traits Inventory-Short Version (CPTI-SV), however the explained variance was small (0.3–0.9%). Conclusions The results challenge the notion of association between interpersonal trauma and youth psychopathic traits. They also highlight the need to gain an improved understanding of overlap between psychopathic traits, ADHD and ODD for clinical screening purposes and the underlying developmental mechanisms.

Dynamics of diurnal cortisol and alpha-amylase secretion and their associations with PTSD onset in recent interpersonal trauma survivors

Background Dysfunction in major stress response systems during the acute aftermath of trauma may contribute to risk for developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The current study investigated how PTSD diagnosis and symptom severity, depressive symptoms, and childhood trauma uniquely relate to diurnal neuroendocrine secretion (cortisol and alpha-amylase rhythms) in women who recently experienced interpersonal trauma compared to non-traumatized controls (NTCs). Method Using a longitudinal design, we examined diurnal cortisol and alpha-amylase rhythms in 98 young women (n = 57 exposed to recent interpersonal trauma, n = 41 NTCs). Participants provided saliva samples and completed symptom measures at baseline and 1-, 3-, and 6-month follow-up. Results Multilevel models (MLMs) revealed lower waking cortisol predicted the development of PTSD in trauma survivors and distinguished at-risk women from NTCs. Women with greater childhood trauma exposure exhibited flatter diurnal cortisol slopes. Among trauma-exposed individuals, lower waking cortisol levels were associated with higher concurrent PTSD symptom severity. Regarding alpha-amylase, MLMs revealed women with greater childhood trauma exposure exhibited higher waking alpha-amylase and slower diurnal alpha-amylase increase. Conclusions Results suggest lower waking cortisol in the acute aftermath of trauma may be implicated in PTSD onset and maintenance. Findings also suggest childhood trauma may predict a different pattern of dysfunction in stress response systems following subsequent trauma exposure than the stress system dynamics associated with PTSD risk; childhood trauma appears to be associated with flattened diurnal cortisol and alpha-amylase slopes, as well as higher waking alpha-amylase.