Towards a person-centered approach to the developmental psychopathology of trauma

Excerpt

Exposure to trauma in childhood and adolescence is a transdiagnostic risk factor for psychopathology [1]. Although most youths who have experienced a traumatic event are exposed to multiple events by the time they reach adulthood [1, 2], previous research has largely focused on psychopathology outcomes associated with individual traumatic experiences. This is surprising given evidence for markedly increased risk of psychopathology among youths with polytrauma [3]. In “A latent class analysis of trauma based on a nationally representative sample of US adolescents,” [4] the authors go beyond a “single trauma, single outcome” approach to examine how various trauma profiles relate to a wide range of psychopathology in a population-based study of US youths. This research highlights the need for a better understanding of the developmental mechanisms linking trauma experiences with youth psychopathology. …