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Symptoms of Dissociation in a High‐Risk Sample of Young Children Exposed to Interpersonal Trauma: Prevalence, Correlates, and Contributors
Author(s) -
Hagan Melissa J.,
Hulette Annmarie C.,
Lieberman Alicia F.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.22003
Subject(s) - psychology , dissociation (chemistry) , interpersonal communication , clinical psychology , injury prevention , poison control , suicide prevention , occupational safety and health , psychiatry , medicine , medical emergency , social psychology , chemistry , pathology
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.