The role of posttraumatic stress as a pathway to psychopathology among youth at high-risk for victimization.

Abstract

Objective: Early victimization elevates children's risk for developing psychopathology. Recent findings suggest that disruptions in developmental processes related to symptoms of posttraumatic stress (PTS) may partially account for the association between early victimization and subsequent psychopathology. The present study prospectively tested the temporal sequencing of these associations using, multiinformant measurements in a large, diverse sample of children at high risk for victimization. Method: This study measured victimization (i.e., direct, indirect, familial, and nonfamilial violence), PTS, externalizing, and internalizing problems among 1154 children (561 girls and 593 boys) who participated in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN). Results: Structural equation modeling revealed that, in addition to directly impacting psychopathology, childhood victimization contributed to escalations in internalizing and externalizing problems as children transitioned from middle to late childhood indirectly through PTS. The mediational role of PTS was largely similar for girls and boys and for those who were investigated for early reports of maltreatment and those identified early as at-risk for victimization. Conclusions: This study delineated the role of PTS in the development of psychopathology following early victimization. These findings highlight the importance of carefully assessing for underlying trauma symptoms when considering diverse presentations of psychopathology among youth who have been victimized.

Symptoms are not the solution but the problem: Why psychiatric research should focus on processes rather than symptoms

“…Looking ahead, network structure models may be a useful integrative framework linking psychological dysfunction with adaptation and impairment in other domains as well. Findings have documented that psychological and physiological processes interact to influence illness risk and moderate disease outcome (e.g., Cromer & Villodas 2017); as network structure models expand across multiple contexts, they have the potential to enhance our understanding of the intra-and interpersonal dynamics that moderate health and illnessbiological as well as psychological.…”

Beyond trait reductionism: Implications of network structures for dimensional models of psychopathology

“…Looking ahead, network structure models may be a useful integrative framework linking psychological dysfunction with adaptation and impairment in other domains as well. Findings have documented that psychological and physiological processes interact to influence illness risk and moderate disease outcome (e.g., Cromer & Villodas 2017); as network structure models expand across multiple contexts, they have the potential to enhance our understanding of the intra- and interpersonal dynamics that moderate health and illness – biological as well as psychological.…”

Loss and Grief among Persistently Delinquent Youth: The Contribution of Adversity Indicators and Psychopathy-Spectrum Traits to Broadband Internalizing and Externalizing Psychopathology

“…Even less is known about the interrelationships among BRD, psychopathy-spectrum traits, and maltreatment, in youth who exhibit the worst long-term outcomes: those whose disruptive behavior emerges early and persists throughout adolescence (i.e., EOPD youth). Thus, in order to optimally alter this negative health spiral, it is critical to address relevant but understudied psychopathologies, traits, and risk-factors, alongside established predictors (physical/sexual abuse, PTSD, e.g., Cromer & Villodas, 2017), that may underlie these overlapping broadband syndromes, particularly among youth at high-risk for adversity driven morbidities demonstrated in the ACE literature (Hughes et al, 2017). The present study therefore aims to characterize loss and BRD among 107 EOPD youth, and compares girls and boys on: 1) psychopathology and maltreatment (emotional, physical, sexual) profiles; and 2) adversity-related (grief, PTSD, maltreatment) and psychopathy-spectrum predictors of broadband syndromes (internalizing, externalizing).…”