Trauma Severity, Poly-victimization, and Treatment Response: Adults in an Inpatient Trauma Program

Abstract

The goal of the current study was to evaluate the extent to which abuse history predicted change in treatment in an inpatient setting. Poly-victimization and trauma severity were examined as predictors of treatment response measured by the Trauma Symptom Checklist-40 and the Symptom Checklist-90-R at admission, discharge, and 6-months follow-up. Data from 161 clients of an inpatient trauma treatment program were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results indicate that level of poly-victimization predicted treatment response from admission to discharge on two of four outcome variables; however, this relationship was not found at follow-up. Further analyses suggest that the difference in treatment response at discharge among clients with higher rates of poly-victimization was an artifact of scores at admission. Trauma severity analyses reveal that differing types of abusive experiences generally did not predict treatment response. Overall, results demonstrate that this inpatient treatment program is similarly effective for a broad array of patients, including those with a greater number, and higher severity, of victimizations.

The association between childhood maltreatment, psychopathology, and adult sexual victimization in men and women: results from three independent samples

“…The current findings also have clinical implications. Those who experience childhood trauma – and more severe trauma – are more likely to experience revictimization which has been found to increase risk and be an associated outcome of psychopathology including PTSD, MDD, and SUDs (Breslau, 2002; Classen et al 2005; Collishaw et al 2007; Cinamon et al 2014; Walsh et al 2014). Therefore, our findings point to the importance of considering CSA (and severity) as a risk factor and adult victimization as both a risk factor and possible outcome associated with psychopathology in community and psychiatric populations.…”

Construct Validation of the Trauma Symptom Checklist–40 Total and Subscale Scores

“…The Trauma Symptom Checklist–40 (TSC-40; Briere & Runtz, 1989; Elliott & Briere, 1992) was originally developed to measure the complexity of the long-term impact of childhood trauma in adulthood and has since been used to assess trauma-related symptoms associated with child and adult traumas and victimization. It remains a popular research tool, with both clinical (e.g., Briere & Runtz, 1989; Cinamon, Muller, & Rosenkranz, 2014; Harris et al, 2016; Murphy, Elklit, Murphy, Hyland, & Shevlin, 2017; Pec, Bob, & Raboch, 2014) and nonclinical samples (e.g., Clemmons, Walsh, DiLillo, & Messman-Moore, 2007; Elliott & Briere, 1992; Fortier et al, 2009; Rosenthal & Freyd, 2017; Schaefer & Nooner, 2017; Smith & Freyd, 2013), highlighting the prevalence of trauma-related symptoms in the general population (Briere & Elliott, 2003; Elliott & Briere, 1992). However, the dimensional structure of the measure as well as its measurement invariance across groups exposed to different trauma types is yet to be established.…”