Adults who have experienced trauma in their childhood risk having a wide range of mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, there may be protective factors...Show moreAdults who have experienced trauma in their childhood risk having a wide range of mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, there may be protective factors that could explain why not all victims develop psychopathology in adulthood. One of these potential factors is ‘psychological resilience’: a cognitive process that determines if an individual is able to bounce back from a negative experience through flexible adaptation. The current study aims to examine the relationship between childhood trauma and PTSD symptoms, along with the possible moderating impact of psychological resilience on this relationship. This was investigated with a cross-sectional design, by means of an online selfreport questionnaire performed by 26 Dutch women aged 25 to 62 years of whom most had experienced some type of trauma. The data was collected using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SR), the PTSD Checklist for DSM-V (PCL-5) and the Resilience Evaluation Scale (RES). The results of a multiple regression analysis demonstrated that, as expected, women who experienced more childhood trauma showed an increased amount of PTSD symptoms (R² = .614, p ≤ .000), and that women with a higher level of resilience showed a lower amount of PTSD symptoms (R² = .74, p ≤ .000). However, resilience cannot be considered as a moderator of the relationship between childhood trauma and PTSD symptoms, as the interaction between childhood trauma and resilience was not significant (p = .179). Instead, the study did find that women who experienced more childhood trauma show lower levels of resilience (r = -.574, p = < .005). The current study recommends future studies to examine what exact role resilience has in the relationship between childhood trauma and PTSD symptoms. In addition, it emphasizes to boost resilience in victims of childhood trauma, because it may decrease the likelihood of developing PTSD symptoms in adulthood.Show less
The experiences of interpersonal trauma can have long-lasting effects on multiple life domains including mental health. Literature suggests that the strength of this relation may be impacted by the...Show moreThe experiences of interpersonal trauma can have long-lasting effects on multiple life domains including mental health. Literature suggests that the strength of this relation may be impacted by the amount of experiential avoidance individuals use. This study aims to examine the relation between interpersonal trauma and depressive feelings and the impact of experiential avoidance on this relation. This was investigated by means of online self-report questionnaires performed by 27 females with an average age of 46.26 (SD = 11.85). To measure whether participants experienced interpersonal trauma the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 was administered. Depression scores were assessed by means of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Experiential avoidance was measured with the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire- II. Linear and multiple regression analyses were performed, and indicated that females who experienced interpersonal trauma score significantly higher on depression than females who did not experience interpersonal trauma (p = .008, R 2 = .25). Findings of the multiple regression analysis indicate no significant interaction of interpersonal trauma and experiential avoidance (p = .614). However, experiential avoidance by itself was a significant predictor of depression (p =<0.01) and reduced the explanatory variance of interpersonal trauma. This possibly indicates a mediating effect of experiential avoidance on the relationship between interpersonal trauma and depression. Recommendations for future research is to investigate this possible mediating role of experiential avoidance on the relation between interpersonal trauma and depression. The current findings suggest that treatments 5 targeting greater experiential acceptance, possibly through peer support groups, might help victims of interpersonal trauma.Show less
Psychotic experiences (PEs) occur in up to 30% of children, usually subsiding during adolescence. The presence of PEs alone can lead to mental distress; additionally its persistence can have grave...Show morePsychotic experiences (PEs) occur in up to 30% of children, usually subsiding during adolescence. The presence of PEs alone can lead to mental distress; additionally its persistence can have grave consequences for the child’s development. Neighborhood characteristics are a promising new frontier for research on the development of PEs in childhood and adolescence. The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between neighborhood social cohesion, living conditions, objective and perceived safety, and PEs at age 14. The secondary aim was to investigate the relationship of the aforementioned neighborhood factors with the trajectory of PEs from age 10 to 14. We ran a specificity analysis using depressive symptoms to evaluate whether the associations were indicative of a link with general psychopathology or specific psychotic spectrum outcomes. We used the Generation R cohort data on self-reported hallucinations and delusions, and the Wijkprofiel Rotterdam on social, safety, and physical characteristics of the neighborhood. In our multilevel logistic regression analysis, we found no evidence for an association of any neighborhood factors with PEs at age 14. There were trends demonstrating the potential association between living conditions and two outcomes: remission of PEs at age 14, and severe depressive symptoms. However, neither association survived multiple testing correction. We discuss the need for further research to ascertain whether the associations apply to general psychopathology or psychotic spectrum outcomes. Furthermore, we propose the need to clarify new potential associations of neighborhood factors with PEs.Show less
