Citation

Hagan MJ, Hulette AC, Lieberman AF. J. Trauma. Stress 2015; 28(3): 258-261.

Affiliation

Child Trauma Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/jts.22003

PMID

26062136

Abstract

Children who have experienced interpersonal trauma are at an increased risk of developing dissociation; however, little is known about the prevalence or correlates of dissociation in young children. The current study examined symptoms of dissociation in 140 children (mean age = 51.17 months, range = 36-72 months, SD = 10.31 months; 50.0% male; 45.7% Hispanic) who experienced trauma (e.g., witnessing domestic violence, experiencing abuse). Child dissociation and exposure to traumatic events were assessed using a clinician-administered interview with the biological mother (mean age = 32.02 years, SD = 6.13; 49.3% Hispanic; 25.5% married or cohabitating). Mothers completed measures of maternal dissociation, depression/anxiety, and child behavior problems. At least subclinical dissociation was present for 24.3% of children. Robust regression with least trimmed squares estimation showed that greater maternal dissociation was related to greater child dissociation, adjusting for child internalizing symptoms, number of traumas, and maternal depression/anxiety, B = 0.09, χ(2) = 10.47, p <.001, R(2) Δ =.04. Children who experienced direct victimization did not exhibit a significantly higher level of dissociation compared to children who experienced other traumas, F(1, 138) = 3.76, p =.054, η(2) =.03. These findings highlight the need to assess dissociation in traumatized young children.

Language: en