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Frewen P, Vincent A, Olff M. Childhood trauma histories in men and women assessed by the childhood attachment and relational trauma screen (CARTS) and the global psychotrauma screen (GPS): Results from the global collaboration on traumatic stress (GC-TS). CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT 2024; 149:106610. [PMID: 38184904 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Whether there are biological sex differences in rates of childhood trauma exposure perpetrated by female versus male biological parents remains largely unknown. Moreover, the relative risk posed by various vulnerability factors for transdiagnostic mental health outcomes among females vs. males in adulthood has received insufficient attention. OBJECTIVE To compare biological sex differences in the long-term impact of childhood abuse and neglect on transdiagnostic mental health outcomes, especially comparing the outcomes of childhood maltreatment perpetrated by biological mothers vs. fathers. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING 3129 participants (2784 female [89 %]) were recruited online, the majority (82 %) of whom endorsed having a childhood trauma history and a high number of mental health problems. METHODS Online surveys were administered. Specifically, the Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS) was completed as a relationally-contextualized screening measure of both positive and traumatic-neglectful experiences during childhood, comparing severity of perpetration by male vs. female biological parents. Further, the Global Psychotrauma Screen (GPS) was completed to assess the relative risk of five vulnerability factors, including childhood abuse and neglect, for long-term transdiagnostic mental health outcomes. Statistical analyses elucidate group differences between males and females primarily by way of t-tests and associated effect sizes (Cohen's d). RESULTS Biological sex differences were shown for childhood maltreatment perpetration by male vs. female biological parents, wherein responses to CARTS showed that females reported that their biological mothers exhibited less positivity (d = 0.21), less attachment security (d = 0.22), more negative feelings toward them (d = 0.28), were more emotionally abusive (d = 0.17), and held more negative relational beliefs about them (d = 0.24). Comparably, males reported that their biological fathers were more physically abusive (d = 0.15) and that they held more negative relational beliefs toward their fathers (d = 0.25). Risk factors including having a history of childhood trauma and neglect were associated with transdiagnostic mental health problems among both females (d = 0.57) and males (d = 0.46), with other risk factors evidencing similar results. CONCLUSIONS Childhood trauma and neglect is a risk factor for transdiagnostic mental health outcomes among both females and males, although the two biological sexes may exhibit different levels of risk of being maltreated by female and male biological parents. Specifically, females reported having more emotionally abusive biological mothers, while males reported having more physically abusive biological fathers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Frewen
- Department of Psychiatry, Western University, 1151 Richmond St, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada; Department of Psychology, Western University, 1151 Richmond St, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada.
| | - Andrew Vincent
- Department of Psychology, Western University, 1151 Richmond St, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Miranda Olff
- Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, ARQ National Psychotrauma Center, The Netherlands, 1012 WX Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Leuchter L, Frewen P, Lueger-Schuster B. Validation and cross-cultural comparisons of the German Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS). Eur J Psychotraumatol 2021; 12:1918901. [PMID: 34104351 PMCID: PMC8168775 DOI: 10.1080/20008198.2021.1918901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Child maltreatment is embedded in a complex system of familial, societal and cultural influences. However, the microsystemic framework in which child maltreatment occurs has not been sufficiently accounted for in previous measures of trauma history. In order to include this relational context, a novel survey method, the Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS), was developed, focusing specifically on the familial environment and childhood attachment relationships. Prior validation studies of the English and Italian versions of the CARTS have tended to support its use. Objective: The current study aims at evaluating the psychometric properties of the German version of the CARTS as well as conducting cross-cultural comparison analyses. It is part of an international research project of the Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress which was initiated by the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS). Method: The sample consisted of n = 140 participants from the German general population aged 18 or older. Further trauma specific measures (GPS, BSI-18, CTQ-SF, ECR-R, PBI) were included for validation. Cross-cultural comparisons were conducted with a German subsample of students in reference to Italian- and English-speaking student samples. Results: Most CARTS subscales showed acceptable internal consistency. Statistically significant relationships were observed with other measures of childhood trauma exposure and parental bonding, as well as PTSD- and other distress-related outcomes. Comparing the German-speaking sample with Italian- and English-speaking samples indicated significant differences with regard to childhood attachment and child maltreatment. Conclusion: The present findings are consistent with previous results concerning the CARTS and advance the validation of this novel survey method within German-speaking samples. Further, the CARTS appears to be sensitive to cross-sample differences in childhood attachment and child maltreatment. Further psychometric evaluations of the CARTS in other languages and within further German-speaking samples are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louisa Leuchter
- Department of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Paul Frewen
- Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, Western University, London, Canada
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Olff M, Bakker A, Frewen P, Aakvaag H, Ajdukovic D, Brewer D, Elmore Borbon DL, Cloitre M, Hyland P, Kassam-Adams N, Knefel M, Lanza JA, Lueger-Schuster B, Nickerson A, Oe M, Pfaltz MC, Salgado C, Seedat S, Wagner A, Schnyder U. Screening for consequences of trauma - an update on the global collaboration on traumatic stress. Eur J Psychotraumatol 2020; 11:1752504. [PMID: 32489523 PMCID: PMC7241533 DOI: 10.1080/20008198.2020.1752504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
This letter provides an update on the activities of "The Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress" (GC-TS) as first described by Schnyder et al. in 2017. It presents in further detail the projects of the first theme, in particular the development of and initial data on the Global Psychotrauma Screen (GPS), a brief instrument designed to screen for the wide range of potential outcomes of trauma. English language data and ongoing studies in several languages provide a first indication that the GPS is a feasible, reliable and valid tool, a tool that may be very useful in the current pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Further multi-language and cross-cultural validation is needed. Since the start of the GC-TS, new themes have been introduced to focus on in the coming years: a) Forcibly displaced persons, b) Global prevalence of stress and trauma related disorders, c) Socio-emotional development across cultures, and d) Collaborating to make traumatic stress research data "FAIR". The most recent theme added is that of Global crises, currently focusing on COVID-19-related projects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miranda Olff
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Neuroscience & Public Health, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre, Diemen, The Netherlands
| | - Anne Bakker
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Paul Frewen
- Department of Psychiatry, Western University, London, Canada
| | - Helene Aakvaag
- Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, Oslo, Norway
| | - Dean Ajdukovic
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Douglas Brewer
- Ramsay Health Care, The Hollywood Clinic, Perth, Australia
| | - Diane L Elmore Borbon
- Policy Program, UCLA-Duke University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Marylène Cloitre
- National Center for PTSD Dissemination and Training Division, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Stanford University, Menlo Park, CA, USA
| | - Philip Hyland
- Department of Psychology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland
| | - Nancy Kassam-Adams
- Center for Injury Research and Prevention, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | - Juliana A Lanza
- Traumatic Stress Unit, Psychiatric Emergency Hospital, Buenos City, Argentina.,Human Factors, Emergency Medical Care System (SAME), Buenos Aires City, Argentina
| | | | | | - Misari Oe
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan
| | - Monique C Pfaltz
- Department of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Carolina Salgado
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical School of Universidad Catolica Del Maule, Chile
| | - Soraya Seedat
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Anne Wagner
- Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada and Remedy, Toronto, Canada
| | - Ulrich Schnyder
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Neuroscience & Public Health, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre, Diemen, The Netherlands.,Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Department of Psychiatry, Western University, London, Canada.,Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, Oslo, Norway.,Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.,Ramsay Health Care, The Hollywood Clinic, Perth, Australia.,Policy Program, UCLA-Duke University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress, Washington, DC, USA.,National Center for PTSD Dissemination and Training Division, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Stanford University, Menlo Park, CA, USA.,Department of Psychology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland.,Center for Injury Research and Prevention, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.,Traumatic Stress Unit, Psychiatric Emergency Hospital, Buenos City, Argentina.,Human Factors, Emergency Medical Care System (SAME), Buenos Aires City, Argentina.,Faculty of Psychology, Clinical Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.,UNSW School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Australia.,Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.,Department of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Psychiatry, Medical School of Universidad Catolica Del Maule, Chile.,Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.,Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada and Remedy, Toronto, Canada.,Department of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Schnyder U, Schäfer I, Aakvaag HF, Ajdukovic D, Bakker A, Bisson JI, Brewer D, Cloitre M, Dyb GA, Frewen P, Lanza J, Le Brocque R, Lueger-Schuster B, Mwiti GK, Oe M, Rosner R, Schellong J, Shigemura J, Wu K, Olff M. The global collaboration on traumatic stress. Eur J Psychotraumatol 2017; 8:1403257. [PMID: 29435201 PMCID: PMC5800488 DOI: 10.1080/20008198.2017.1403257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2017] [Accepted: 11/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Trauma is a global issue. The great majority of the global burden of disease arising from mental health conditions occurs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), among populations in political, economic, and/or cultural transition and those struck by forced migration. These mental health problems frequently arise as a result of traumatic events that adversely affect adults, children, and families, including war, mass violence, natural disasters, and accidents. In response to this, the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) launched the Global Initiative to have a stronger global impact on trauma-related issues. As part of this initiative, the Global Collaboration was established by representatives of eight professional organizations active in the field of traumatic stress. The group decided to focus on childhood abuse and neglect as its first collaboration. They collected guidelines worldwide, providing the basis for a synthesized core guide for prevention and treatment that can be customized for specific cultural contexts. The resulting 'Internet information on Childhood Abuse and Neglect' (iCAN) is a comprehensive guide for adults who have been affected by childhood abuse and neglect, as well as for the survivors' significant others. It is currently provided in eight languages, and is freely available at the homepage of ISTSS and other websites. A second achievement of the Global Collaboration is the validation of the Computerized Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS), a self-report measure designed to measure occurrences of childhood maltreatment, and its translation into multiple languages, including Croatian, Dutch, French, Georgian, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Russian, and Spanish. A study is currently planned to collect normative responses to the questionnaire, and to conduct cross-cultural comparisons. The Global Collaboration's success may be seen as an encouraging step towards a truly global structure in the field of traumatic stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ulrich Schnyder
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ingo Schäfer
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Helene F. Aakvaag
- Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, Oslo, Norway
| | - Dean Ajdukovic
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Anne Bakker
- Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center at the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jonathan I. Bisson
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff, UK
| | - Douglas Brewer
- Ramsay Health Care, The Hollywood Clinic, Perth, Australia
| | - Marylène Cloitre
- National Center for PTSD Dissemination and Training Division, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Menlo Park, CA, USA
| | - Grete A. Dyb
- Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, Oslo, Norway
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Paul Frewen
- Department of Psychiatry, Western University, London, Canada
| | - Juliana Lanza
- Argentine Society for Psychotrauma, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Robyne Le Brocque
- School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Social Work, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | | | - Gladys K. Mwiti
- Oasis Africa Centre for Transformational Psychology & Trauma, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Misari Oe
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan
| | - Rita Rosner
- Department of Psychology, Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Eichstätt, Germany
| | - Julia Schellong
- Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus at the Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Jun Shigemura
- Department of Psychiatry, National Defense Medical College, Tokorozawa, Japan
| | - Kitty Wu
- Asian Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Hong Kong, China
- Clinical Psychological Services, Kwai Chung Hospital, Hospital Authority, Hong Kong, China
| | - Miranda Olff
- Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center at the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Arq Psychotrauma Expert Group, Diemen, The Netherlands
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