A Validation of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale in Nigeria

Adverse Childhood Experience International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ) was developed to measure childhood trauma in adolescents and adults. The present study examined concurrent validity of ACE-IQ and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) using responses of 253 prison inmates on both instruments. The instruments were administered concurrently to purposively selected inmates in Agodi Prison, Ibadan. Correlations between the total score of the ACE-IQ and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) were significant. Correlations between each subscale of the ACE-IQ and the CTQ were significant. A 2x2x2x2 factorial analysis of gender, age, educational level and marital status on adverse childhood experiences revealed that male, young, low on education and divorced (MYLD) prison inmate were more on adverse childhood experience (n=4, x =108, SD=6.9).These results indicated that the ACE-IQ and CTQ have concurrent validity and ACE IQ is a reliable and valid index of the adverse childhood experience in the study population. Keywords: Adverse childhood experience questionnaire, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, prison inmates, concurrent validity

Mapping the Road from Childhood Trauma to Adult Somatization: The Role of Attachment

Objective: This study tested whether insecure attachment mediates the link between childhood trauma and adult somatization. Methods: A community sample of 101 couples completed self-report measures including the Relationship Scales Questionnaire, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Somatic Symptom Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Conflict Tactics Scale. Results: Childhood trauma was associated with higher levels of somatization and insecure attachment. Insecure attachment style was also associated with higher levels of somatization. Controlling for age, income, and recent intimate partner violence, analyses showed that fearful attachment fully mediated the link between childhood trauma and somatization for women. For men there was no such mediation, but both childhood trauma and insecure attachment styles made independent contributions to predicting levels of somatization. Conclusions: Findings are consistent with the hypothesis that, for women, childhood trauma influences adult levels of somatization by fostering insecure adult attachment. For men, findings suggest that trauma and attachment are both important independent predictors of adult somatization. Study results support the idea that childhood trauma shapes patients’ styles of relating to others in times of need and these styles in turn influence the somatization process and how patients respond to providers. Screening for attachment style may provide information that could allow health care providers to tailor treatment more effectively. Key words: Attachment style, somatization, childhood trauma, interpersonal models. Abbreviations: CTQ = Childhood Trauma Questionnaire; CTS2 = Conflict Tactics Scale version 2; SSI = Somatic Symptom Inventory; RSQ = Relationship Scales Questionnaire; BDI = Beck Depression Inventory

Mapping the Road from Childhood Trauma to Adult Somatization: The Role of Attachment

Objective: This study tested whether insecure attachment mediates the link between childhood trauma and adult somatization. Methods: A community sample of 101 couples completed self-report measures including the Relationship Scales Questionnaire, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Somatic Symptom Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Conflict Tactics Scale. Results: Childhood trauma was associated with higher levels of somatization and insecure attachment. Insecure attachment style was also associated with higher levels of somatization. Controlling for age, income, and recent intimate partner violence, analyses showed that fearful attachment fully mediated the link between childhood trauma and somatization for women. For men there was no such mediation, but both childhood trauma and insecure attachment styles made independent contributions to predicting levels of somatization. Conclusions: Findings are consistent with the hypothesis that, for women, childhood trauma influences adult levels of somatization by fostering insecure adult attachment. For men, findings suggest that trauma and attachment are both important independent predictors of adult somatization. Study results support the idea that childhood trauma shapes patients’ styles of relating to others in times of need and these styles in turn influence the somatization process and how patients respond to providers. Screening for attachment style may provide information that could allow health care providers to tailor treatment more effectively. Key words: Attachment style, somatization, childhood trauma, interpersonal models. Abbreviations: CTQ = Childhood Trauma Questionnaire; CTS2 = Conflict Tactics Scale version 2; SSI = Somatic Symptom Inventory; RSQ = Relationship Scales Questionnaire; BDI = Beck Depression Inventory

The connection between CPTSD and eating disorders

Eating Disorders (EDs) are serious mental health conditions proposed to be multifactorial in nature. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trauma history, and childhood maltreatment have been noted as possible predictive factors for their development. Research on complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) in relation to EDs, however, is limited. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between childhood maltreatment and ED psychopathology, in relation to CPTSD symptomatology as defined by the ICD-11. Relationships between ED symptomatology and the trauma responses associated with the stress or “fight-or-flight” response were analyzed. 167 female participants, aged 18-25, who reported having experienced at least one event on the Life- Events Checklist 5 (LEC-5) were recruited through a research program at a northeast urban university, and Prolific, an online research platform. Participants filled out a series of self-report questionnaires: the shortened Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-SF), The International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ), the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale (EDDS), the Fight Flight Freeze Questionnaire (FFFQ) and the Spann-Fischer Codependency Scale (SF-CDS). Childhood trauma was positively correlated with both CPTSD and PTSD symptoms. ED symptoms were not significantly related to childhood trauma scores, apart from small correlations between ED symptoms, emotional abuse, and physical neglect. An indirect relationship between childhood trauma and ED symptoms was mediated by CPTSD symptomatology. ED symptomatology was associated with both the freeze response and codependency. These findings provide support for the relationship between childhood trauma and CPTSD symptoms and highlight the mediational significance of CPTSD symptoms in the relationship between childhood trauma and ED symptomatology

Designing and Testing a Structural Model of the Relationship between Attachment Styles and the Dark Triad of Personality: The Mediating Role of Childhood Trauma

Background and Aim:The main objective of the current study was to investigate the role of attachment styles in dark triad of personality with the mediating role of childhood trauma among college students.Materials and Methods:In this descriptive-correlational (cross-sectional) study, 148 students (26 men and 122 women) who studied at the Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology of Shahid Beheshti University in the 2019-2020 educational year, were selected through convenience sampling method. Then, they answered Collins & Read's Attachment Styles Questionnaire, Standard Child Abuse Questionnaire in Iran and Dark Triad Questionnaire. The data obtained in this study, was analyzed through path analysis method using PLS and SPSS software.Results:The analysis of data indicated thatanxious attachment style can predict Machiavellianism by the mediation of childhood trauma (P<0.05). Moreover, anxious attachment style was directly related to narcissism (P<0.05). Furthermore, findings demonstrated other direct paths including anxious attachment style to childhood trauma, childhood trauma to Machiavellianism and anxious attachment style to Machiavellianism (P<0.05).Conclusion:As a result,individuals with insecure/anxious attachment style and high childhood trauma are more likely to be diagnosed with the dark triad of personality. Therefore, interventions based on repairing attachment styles and childhood trauma should be considered for psychotherapy and modifying dark triad of personality

Exploring the Relationship Between Depression and Resilience in Survivors of Childhood Trauma

Although experiences of trauma are common, reactions vary due to a host of biopsychosocial and cultural factors that influence the individual reaction to the trauma (Nakai et al., 2015). One such factor is resiliency, the capability to adapt in adverse environmental circumstances (Basim & Cetin, 2011). This study used hierarchical multiple regression to examine the relationships between childhood trauma, recent experiences of depression, and resilience in adult university students. This study also examined the possible moderating effects on depression by resilience. Participants completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Connor-Davidson Resilience scale, and PROMIS Depression survey. Small significant relationships were found for several of the variables, including: childhood trauma and ethnicity, childhood trauma and age, childhood trauma and income, childhood trauma and education, childhood trauma and resilience, childhood trauma and depression, depression and ethnicity, depression and education, depression and income, resilience and gender, resilience and income, and resilience and trauma. The results of this study also suggest resilience has a moderate inverse relationship with depression. The data also confirmed the existing literature which noted that adults who have experienced trauma in childhood have significantly higher rates of depression in adulthood than adults who have not experienced trauma

A Measure Development Study for Youth Trauma Exposure and Developmental Trauma Disorder

Childhood trauma research and assessment are limited in addressing complex trauma. Specifically, current childhood trauma exposure measures are limited in the types of trauma queried, the ability to assess for frequency of trauma incidents, and the possibility of reporting on symptoms from multiple traumas (Hawkins & Radcliffe, 2006). Another problem with current childhood trauma practices is related to diagnosis. Most children who experience complex trauma are not diagnosed with PTSD; separation anxiety disorder and oppositional defiant disorder are most commonly diagnosed (Cook et al., 2005). Emotional and behavioral difficulties associated with complex trauma in childhood may be better captured by symptoms of a proposed diagnosis, developmental trauma disorder (DTD; van der Kolk, 2005). This measure development study included testing of an improved childhood trauma exposure measure, the Stressful Events Questionnaire (SEQ), and a measure to assess for DTD symptoms, the Developmental Trauma Disorder Questionnaire (DTDQ) in a clinical child sample. Children exposed to a variety of trauma experiences were assessed utilizing the SEQ, which includes potentially traumatic experiences and assesses for frequency of incidents, as well as utilizing the DTDQ. Results provided preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the SEQ and DTDQ in a clinical child sample. Results also provided empirical support for a broadened PTSD criterion A and support for DTD criteria. This study has implications for the diagnosis and treatment of trauma experiences in youth

The relationship between mindfulness and childhood trauma with suicide: The mediating role of cognitive bias

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between mindfulness, childhood trauma, and suicide, specifically focusing on the mediating role of cognitive bias. Suicide is a pressing issue that poses a significant threat to public health in society, and understanding the factors that contribute to it is crucial. The research design employed in this study is a correlation-based structural equation model. A total of 370 students from the second level of secondary school in Iran city were selected as participants using an available sampling method during the academic year of 2023. To gather data, several questionnaires were utilized, including the Kentucky Mindfulness Questionnaire, Bernstein et al.'s Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (1994), Hammachi and Ozturk's Cognitive Bias Questionnaire (2004), and the Multi-attitude Suicidal Tendency Questionnaire (MAST). Data analysis was conducted using SPSS-23 and Amos software, encompassing both descriptive and inferential levels. The findings of this research revealed several significant relationships. Firstly, there is a positive and significant direct path from childhood trauma to cognitive bias. Secondly, mindfulness has a negative and significant direct path to cognitive bias. Thirdly, childhood trauma has a direct and significant path to suicide. Additionally, cognitive bias has a positive and significant path to suicidality, while mindfulness has a negative and significant path to suicide. Moreover, there are positive and significant indirect paths from suicide to childhood trauma and negative and significant indirect paths from suicide to mindfulness. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of mindfulness and cognitive bias as variables related to adolescent suicide. Adolescents who have experienced childhood trauma are more likely to consider suicide as a solution when faced with life problems. These findings emphasize the need for interventions and support systems that address mindfulness, cognitive bias, and childhood trauma to prevent and mitigate the risk of suicide among adolescents

Schizophrenia patients with a history of childhood trauma have a pro-inflammatory phenotype

Background. Increasing evidence indicates that childhood trauma is a risk factor for schizophrenia and patients with this syndrome have a pro-inflammatory phenotype. We tested the hypothesis that the pro-inflammatory phenotype in schizophrenia is associated with childhood trauma and that patients without a history of such trauma have a similar immune profile to healthy controls. Method. We recruited 40 schizophrenia patients and 40 controls, all of whom completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) techniques, we measured peripheral levels of interleukin (IL)-1b, IL-6, IL-8 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-a. These immune parameters were compared in schizophrenia with childhood trauma, schizophrenia without childhood trauma and healthy controls. Results. Patients with childhood trauma had higher levels of IL-6 and TNF-a than patients without trauma and healthy controls, and TNF-a levels correlated with the extent of the trauma. Patients with no trauma had similar immune profiles to controls. Conclusions. Childhood trauma drives changes, possibly epigenetic, that generate a pro-inflammatory phenotype