Citation

Sölva K, Haselgruber A, Lueger-Schuster B. Child Abuse Negl. 2020; 101: e104388.

Affiliation

Unit of Psychotraumatology, Department of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Wächtergasse 1, 1010 Vienna, Austria.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104388

PMID

32007791

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Children and adolescents in foster care show a high prevalence of cumulative traumatic experiences (CTE), symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and symptoms related to disturbances in self-organization (DSO). PTSD and DSO constitute the ICD-11 diagnosis Complex PTSD (CPTSD). Sense of coherence (SOC) has been shown to alleviate the impact of CTE.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of SOC in the relationship between CTE, PTSD, and DSO. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Trauma history (CTE), PTSD, DSO and SOC were assessed in a sample of 140 children and adolescents in foster care aged 10-18 using self-report questionnaires.

METHOD: Mediation analysis determined the direct, indirect and total effect of the mediation of SOC in the relationship between CTE, PTSD and DSO.

RESULTS: The results showed no mediation of SOC in the relationship between CTE and PTSD symptoms (indirect effect of b = -.001, 95 %CI: -.088-.086). However, SOC mediated the relationship between CTE and DSO symptoms (indirect effect b =.128, 95 %CI: 0.045-.211).

CONCLUSIONS: Those results may point to a promotive function of SOC for the overall development and different areas of self-organization, but not for PTSD symptoms. It is possible that the influence of the trauma on symptoms of PTSD is too pervasive for the promotive function of SOC. The present findings strengthen the assumption that PTSD and DSO are separate second-order factors, which characterize different groups of trauma survivors. The present findings are vital to inform tailored prevention and intervention strategies for survivors of early CTE.

Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Cumulative traumatic experiences; Disturbances in self-organization; Foster care; ICD-11; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Sense of coherence