Gender as a predictor of posttraumatic stress symptoms and externalizing behavior problems in sexually abused children

Gauthier-Duchesne, Amélie; Hébert, Martine; Daspe, Marie‐Ève

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.12.008

Cited by 44 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 35 publications

(54 reference statements)

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“…While some studies found that females are more sensitive to CM (McGee et al, 1997; MacMillan et al, 2001; Lansford et al, 2002; Banyard et al, 2004; Fletcher, 2009; Herringa et al, 2013b), others maintain that males are more sensitive (Hibbard et al, 1990; Garnefski and Diekstra, 1997; McGloin and Widom, 2001; De Bellis and Keshavan, 2003; Bergen et al, 2004; Zeanah et al, 2009; Coohey, 2010; Crozier et al, 2014). A third group of studies proposed a more nuanced and complex relationship between sex and CM, suggesting that the outcome depends on the type of maltreatment, genetic vulnerability, the specific circuit involved, and the developmental stage when the outcomes are assessed (Darves-Bornoz et al, 1998; Gershon et al, 2008; Keyes et al, 2012; Bale and Epperson, 2015; Humphreys et al, 2015; Teicher and Samson, 2016; Gauthier-Duchesne et al, 2017). See also Supplementary Table S1.…”

Section: Modereating Effects Of Sex In Clinical and Preclinical Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Moderating Effects of Sex on Consequences of Childhood Maltreatment: From Clinical Studies to Animal Models

White

Kaffman

2019

Front. Neurosci.

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Stress has pronounced effects on the brain, and thus behavioral outputs. This is particularly true when the stress occurs during vulnerable points in development. A review of the clinical literature regarding the moderating effects of sex on psychopathology in individuals exposed to childhood maltreatment (CM) is complicated by a host of variables that are difficult to quantify and control in clinical settings. As a result, the precise role of sex in moderating the consequences of CM remains elusive. In this review, we explore the rationale for studying this important question and their implications for treatment. We examine this issue using the threat/deprivation conceptual framework and highlight a growing body of work demonstrating important sex differences in human studies and in animal models of early life stress (ELS). The challenges and obstacles for effectively studying this question are reviewed and are followed by recommendations on how to move forward at the clinical and preclinical settings. We hope that this review will help inspire additional studies on this important topic.

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Section: Modereating Effects Of Sex In Clinical and Preclinical Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Moderating Effects of Sex on Consequences of Childhood Maltreatment: From Clinical Studies to Animal Models

White

Kaffman

2019

Front. Neurosci.

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“…A major obstacle in clarifying some of these clinical observations is the over reliance on subjective reports about sensitive and personal information usually obtained by a complete stranger 8 , 9 , 15 . In this regard, the recent use of functional imaging provides an important and promising objective tool to study the effects of childhood adversity on brain function and connectivity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amygdala hyper-connectivity in a mouse model of unpredictable early life stress

Johnson¹,

Delpech²,

Thompson³

et al. 2018

Transl Psychiatry

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Childhood maltreatment is associated with a wide range of psychopathologies including anxiety that emerge in childhood and in many cases persist in adulthood. Increased amygdala activation in response to threat and abnormal amygdala connectivity with frontolimbic brain regions, such as the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex, are some of the most consistent findings seen in individuals exposed to childhood maltreatment. The underlying mechanisms responsible for these changes are difficult to study in humans but can be elucidated using animal models of early-life stress. Such studies are especially powerful in the mouse where precise control of the genetic background and the stress paradigm can be coupled with resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) to map abnormal connectivity in circuits that regulate anxiety. To address this issue we first compared the effects of two models of early-life stress, limited bedding (LB) and unpredictable postnatal stress (UPS), on anxiety-like behavior in juvenile and adult mice. We found that UPS, but not LB, causes a robust increase in anxiety in juvenile and adult male mice. Next, we used rsfMRI to compare frontolimbic connectivity in control and UPS adult male mice. We found increased amygdala–prefrontal cortex and amygdala–hippocampus connectivity in UPS. The strength of the amygdala–hippocampal and amygdala–prefrontal cortex connectivity was highly correlated with anxiety-like behavior in the open-field test and elevated plus maze. These findings are the first to link hyperconnectivity in frontolimbic circuits and increased anxiety in a mouse model of early-life stress, allowing for more mechanistic understanding of parallel findings in humans.

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“…As defined by World Health Organization gender violence is 'the greatest public health issue and violation of human rights in the world; it is a violation of a person's physical and mental integrity (WHO 2014). SA is a traumatic life event in which the negative outcomes increase with increasing severity of abuse including physical maltreatment (McCauley et al 1997) such us lacerations, fractures, genital mutilation, sexually transmitted diseases (Lacey 1990), gynecologic disorders (Walling et al 1994;Golding et al 1998) unwanted or pathological pregnancies (Murphy et al 2001), depression (Wise et al 2001), eating disorders (Goodwin et al 2003), self-destructive behaviours (Alix et al 2017) genito-urinary and sexual disorders (Vella et al 2015), post-traumatic stress disorders (Kendler et al 2000;MacMillan et al 2001;Sprinter et al 2007;Jonas et al 2011;Gauthier-Duchesne et al 2017;Bottomley et al 1999). Internationally, different approaches are taken to the collection of forensic evidence and to the clinical and psychological assessment of alleged victims Berry et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medico legal procedures related to sexual assault: a 10-year retrospective experience of a Daphne protocol application

Zerbo

Milone

Scalici

et al. 2018

Egypt J Forensic Sci

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Background: Sexual assault is a worldwide problem that has not yet been sufficiently acknowledged as confirmed by the literature. Italian law n.96, 1996, foreseeing norms regarding rape and sexual abuse, finally gave significant relevance to sex crimes. Results: Among victims 88 were females (97%) and 2 males (3%); 68 Italians (75.5%) and 22 foreigners (24.5%). At the time the events occurred, 42% (n = 38) of the victims were minors aged less than 16 years. In 11 cases, the age of the victim is not indicated. The assailant was an acquaintance of the victim in 65% of the cases (in 73% of these cases, the assailant was a family member). In 26 cases (28%) happened indoor, 44 cases happened outdoor and in 20 cases there were no data. Evidence of recent acute general body trauma (abrasions, bruises, lacerations) was found in 38 cases (42%); other types of injuries include: genital trauma (14 cases, 15%), genital and body traumas (49 cases, 54%) (tab. 1-2-). In 24 cases (26%) there were no injuries. Among genital trauma, we distinguished vulvovaginal lesions (68.5%) and anal lesions (31.5%). We have classified the minor victims using first Adam's classification and based on Adam's classification revised in 2015. Conclusion: Application of the Ve.R.S.O project protocol changed and greatly improved health management of victims of violence. By following these procedures, violence and abuse are analyzed from every point of view, also for an appropriate assessment of the medium and long term health consequences of sexual assault. Only in this way are citizens provided with a high level of protection against gender violence, psychological support and prevention from any form of violence which takes place in respect of such vulnerable people.

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Gender as a predictor of posttraumatic stress symptoms and externalizing behavior problems in sexually abused children

Cited by 44 publications

References 35 publications

The Moderating Effects of Sex on Consequences of Childhood Maltreatment: From Clinical Studies to Animal Models

The Moderating Effects of Sex on Consequences of Childhood Maltreatment: From Clinical Studies to Animal Models

Amygdala hyper-connectivity in a mouse model of unpredictable early life stress

Medico legal procedures related to sexual assault: a 10-year retrospective experience of a Daphne protocol application

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