Citation

Wamser-Nanney R, Campbell CL. Child Maltreat. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077559520927472

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Concordance in caregivers' and children's reports of children's trauma-related symptoms is often low, and symptom discrepancies are associated with negative clinical implications. The aim of the current study was to examine the degree of concordance between children's and caregivers' reports of trauma-related difficulties and determine whether any child or family characteristics were associated with symptom agreement. Three hundred thirteen trauma-exposed children (M = 9.55, SD = 1.77; 65.2% girls, 51.3% Black) and their nonoffending caregivers seeking treatment were included in the study. Children's and caregivers' reports of trauma-related difficulties were related, but low intraclass correlation coefficients indicated poor concordance across symptoms. Child's gender was associated with levels of concordance for several trauma-related difficulties (e.g., anxiety, depression, anger, dissociation, and sexual concerns), with lower symptom agreement for girls. Child's age, minority status, and relationship to caregiver emerged as factors related to levels of concordance for certain trauma-related symptoms. Child's gender, age, minority status, and relationship to caregiver may predict symptom discordance for select trauma-related difficulties, whereas other family factors such as caregiver marital status and income may be unrelated. Given the importance of caregiver-child concordance in treatment success, additional research should investigate other factors that may influence trauma-related symptom agreement.

Language: en

Keywords

PTSD; children and caregivers; symptom concordance