Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T09:16:49.477Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Trauma and Adversity in the Lives of Children and Adolescents Attending a Mental Health Service

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 July 2015

Rebecca E. Reay ,
Beverley Raphael ,
Velissa Aplin ,
Virginia McAndrew ,
Jeffery C. Cubis ,
Denise M. Riordan ,
Nicola Palfrey  and
Wendy Preston
Rebecca E. Reay*
Affiliation:
Academic Unit of Psychiatry & Addiction Medicine, ANU Medical School, The Canberra Hospital, Garran, ACT, Australia
Beverley Raphael
Affiliation:
Academic Unit of Psychiatry & Addiction Medicine, ANU Medical School, The Canberra Hospital, Garran, ACT, Australia Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services, ACT Mental Health, Justice Health and Alcohol and Drug Services (MHJHDAS), Canberra, ACT, Australia
Velissa Aplin
Affiliation:
Academic Unit of Psychiatry & Addiction Medicine, ANU Medical School, The Canberra Hospital, Garran, ACT, Australia Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services, ACT Mental Health, Justice Health and Alcohol and Drug Services (MHJHDAS), Canberra, ACT, Australia
Virginia McAndrew
Affiliation:
Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services, ACT Mental Health, Justice Health and Alcohol and Drug Services (MHJHDAS), Canberra, ACT, Australia
Jeffery C. Cubis
Affiliation:
Academic Unit of Psychiatry & Addiction Medicine, ANU Medical School, The Canberra Hospital, Garran, ACT, Australia Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services, ACT Mental Health, Justice Health and Alcohol and Drug Services (MHJHDAS), Canberra, ACT, Australia
Denise M. Riordan
Affiliation:
Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services, ACT Mental Health, Justice Health and Alcohol and Drug Services (MHJHDAS), Canberra, ACT, Australia
Nicola Palfrey
Affiliation:
Academic Unit of Psychiatry & Addiction Medicine, ANU Medical School, The Canberra Hospital, Garran, ACT, Australia Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services, ACT Mental Health, Justice Health and Alcohol and Drug Services (MHJHDAS), Canberra, ACT, Australia
Wendy Preston
Affiliation:
Private Practice Jerrabomberra, ACT, Australia
*
addresss for correspondence: Rebecca Reay, Academic Unit of Psychiatry & Addiction Medicine, ANU Medical School, Level 2, Blg 4, PO Box 11, The Canberra Hospital, Garran, ACT 2606, Australia. Phone: 02 6244 3500; Fax: (02) 6244 3502. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Although childhood trauma and family adversity can increase vulnerability to serious mental health problems, uncertainty exists about the nature and prevalence in a clinical population. This embedded research aims to establish the prevalence of trauma and adversity in young people seeking help from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). All children, adolescents, and their parents/guardian attending their initial assessment at a CAMHS service were invited to participate in the ‘Stressful Life and Family Difficulties study’ and a clinical interview. 162 families participated in the study. It was more common for young people to experience multiple adversities (three or more) in the last 12 months than single events. Mothers self-reported a greater number of family adversities than fathers. According to clinicians, the most frequent adversities experienced by young people were having a parent with a mental illness (66%), being bullied (63%) and parental divorce or separation (43%). Overall, clinicians reported that 69% of CAMHS clients had experienced a potentially traumatic experience (any physical, emotional or sexual abuse, child neglect or traumatic event). Moreover, young people with trauma histories were significantly more likely to have a parent with a history of trauma.

Keywords

traumaadversitychildrenadolescentmental health services
Type
Conference Proceedings
Information
Children Australia , Volume 40 , Issue 3: INTERPRETING NEUROSCIENCE, CREATING EVIDENCE - A COLLECTION OF AUSTRALIAN BASED TRAUMA INFORMED RESEARCH AND PRACTICE , September 2015 , pp. 167 - 179
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anda, R. F., Brown, D. W., Felitti, V. J., Bremner, J. D., Dube, S. R., & Giles, W. H. (2007). Adverse childhood experiences and prescribed psychotropic medications in adults. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 32 (5), 389–394.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health [ACPMH]. (2013). Australian guidelines for the treatment of acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. Melbourne, Victoria. Retrieved from ACPMH website: http://www.acpmh.unimelb.edu.au/resources/resources-guidelines.html.Google Scholar
Beardslee, W. R., Versage, E. M., & Gladstone, T. R. (1998). Children of affectively ill parents: A review of the past 10 years. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 37 (11), 1134–1141.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bebbington, P. E., Bhugra, D., Brugha, T., Singleton, N., Farrell, M., Jenkins, R., . . . Meltzer, H. (2004). Psychosis, victimisation and childhood disadvantage: Evidence from the second British national survey of psychiatric morbidity. British Journal of Psychiatry, 185 (3), 220–226.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bond, L., Carlin, J. B., Thomas, L., Rubin, K., & Patton, G. (2001). Does bullying cause emotional problems? A prospective study of young teenagers. British Medical Journal, 323, 480–484. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.323.7311.480.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Breslau, N., Kessler, R. C., Chilcoat, H. D., Schultz, L. R., Davis, G. C., & Andreski, P. (1998). Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in the community: The 1996 detroit area survey of Trauma. Archives of General Psychiatry, 55 (7), 626–632.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brugha, T., Bebbington, P., Tennant, C., & Hurry, J. (1985). The list of threatening experiences: A subset of 12 life event categories with considerable long term contextual threat. Psychological Medicine, 15, 189–194.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
CATS Consortium. (2007). Implementing CBT for traumatized children and adolescents after september 11: Lessons learned from the child and adolescent trauma treatments and services (CATS) project. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 36 (4), 581–592, DOI: 10.1080/15374410701662725.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Child Family Community Australia [CFCA]. (2012, June) CFCA resource sheet: What is child abuse and neglect? Australian Institute of Family Studies, Retrieved from https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/search/prevalence-child-abuse-and-neglectGoogle Scholar
Child Family Community Australia [CFCA]. (2013). The prevalence of child abuse and neglect, Australian institute of family studies. Retrieved from https://www3.aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/prevalence-child-abuse-and-neglect.Google Scholar
Clark, C., Caldwell, T., Power, C., & Stansfeld, S. A. (2010). Does the influence of childhood adversity on psychopathology persist across the lifecourse? A 45-year prospective epidemiologic study. Annals of Epidemiology, 20 (5), 385–394. doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2010.02.008.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, J., & Mannarino, A. P. (2008). Disseminating and implementing trauma-focused CBT in community settings. Trauma Violence Abuse, 9, 214–226. doi:10.1177/1524838008324336.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Copeland, W. E., Keeler, G., Angold, A., & Costello, E. J. (2007). Traumatic events and posttraumatic stress in childhood. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64 (5), 577–584.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Copeland, W. E., Wolke, D., Angold, A., & Costello, E. J. (2013). Adult psychiatric outcomes of bullying and being bullied by peers in childhood and adolescence. Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry, 70 (4), 419–426.Google ScholarPubMed
Cowen, E. L., Work, W. C., Wyman, P. A., Parker, G. J. l., Wannon, M., & Gribble, P. (1992). Test comparisons among stress-affected, stress resilient and non-classified fourth through sixth grade urban children. Journal of Community Psychology, 20, 200–214.3.0.CO;2-W>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cross, D., Shaw, T., Hearn, L., Epstein, M., Monks, H., Lester, L., . . . Thomas, L. (2009). Australian covert bullying prevalence study (ACBPS). Perth, Western Australia: Child Health Promotion Research Centre, Edith Cowan University.Google Scholar
Felitti, V. J., & Anda, R. F. (2010). The relationship of adverse childhood experiences to adult medical disease, psychiatric disorders, and sexual behavior: Implications for healthcare. In Lanius, R., Vermette, E., Pain, C. (Eds.), The hidden epidemic: The impact of early life trauma on health and disease (pp. 77–87). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., . . . Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The adverse childhood experiences (ACE) study. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 14 (4), 245–258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Finkelhor, D., Ormrod, R., & Turner, H. A. (2009). The developmental epidemiology of childhood victimization. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24, 711–731.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Foa, E. B., Johnson, K. M., Feeny, N. C., & Treadwell, K. R. (2001). The child PTSD symptom scale: A preliminary examination of its psychometric properties. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 30 (3), 376–384.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ford, J. D., Connor, D. F., & Hawke, J. (2009). Complex trauma among psychiatrically impaired children: A cross-sectional, chart-review study. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 70 (8), 1155–1163. doi:10.4088/JCP.08m04783CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Forero, R., McLellan, L., Rissel, C., & Bauman, A. (1999). Bullying behaviours and psychosocial health among school students in New South Wales, Australia. British Medical Journal, 319, 344–348.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Giaconia, R. M., Reinherz, H. Z., Silverman, A. B., Pakiz, B., Frost, A. K., & Cohen, E. (1995). Traumas and posttraumatic stress disorder in a community population of older adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 1369–1380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodman, L. A., Rosenberg, S. D., Mueser, K. T., & Drake, R. E. (1997). Physical and sexual assault history in women with serious mental illness: Prevalence, correlates, treatment, and future research directions. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 23, 685–696. doi:10.1093/schbul/23.4.685CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Green, J. G., McLaughlin, K. A., Berglund, P. A., Gruber, M. J., Sampson, N. A., Zaslavsky, A. M., . . . Kessler, R. C., (2010). Childhood adversities and adult psychopathology in the national comorbidity survey replication (NCS-R) I: Associations with first onset of DSM-IV disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 67 (2), 113–123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Higgins, D. J., & McCabe, M. P. (2001). Multiple forms of child abuse and neglect: Adult retrospective reports. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 6 (6), 547–578.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodas, G. R. (2006). Responding to childhood trauma:Tthe promise and practice of trauma informed care. Pennsylvania Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Retrieved from http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/cs/groups/public/documents/manual/s_001585.pdfGoogle Scholar
Huntsman, L., (2008). Parents with mental health issues: Consequences for children and effectiveness of interventions designed to assist children and their families. Literature review. Sydney: NSW Department of Community Services. Retrieved from http://www.community.nsw.gov.au/docswr/_assets/main/documents/research_parentalmentalhealth.pdf.Google Scholar
Janssen, I., Krabbendam, L., Bak, M., Hanssen, M., Vollebergh, W., de Graaf, R., . . . van Os, J. (2004). Childhood abuse as a risk factor for psychotic experiences. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 109 (1), 38–45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Juvonen, J., Wang, Y., & Espinoza, G. (2011). Bullying experiences and compromised academic performance across middle school grades. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 31, 152–173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kenardy, J., Spence, S., & Macleod, A. (2006). Screening for risk of persistent posttraumatic morbidity in children following traumatic injury. Pediatrics, 118, 1002–1009.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kezelman, C. A., & Stavropoulos, P. A. (2012). The last frontier’: Practice guidelines for treatment of complex trauma and trauma informed care and service delivery. Adults Surviving Sexual Abuse [ASCA]. Retrieved from ASCA website: http://www.asca.org.au/.Google Scholar
Lakey, B., & Heller, K. (1985). Response biases and the relation between negative life events and psychological symptoms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 1162–1668.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lu, W., Yanos, P. T., Silverstein, S. M., Mueser, K. T., Rosenberg, S. D., Gottlieb, J. D., . . . Giacobbe, G. J. (2013). Public mental health clients with severe mental illness and probable posttraumatic stress disorder: Trauma exposure and correlates of symptom severity. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 26 (2), 266–273. doi:10.1002/jts.21791CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maguire, B. (2011). The longitudinal study of Australian children annual statistical report 2010. Retrieved from Australian Institutes of Family Studies website: http://www.growingupinaustralia.gov.au/pubs/asr/2010/.Google Scholar
Matud, M. P. (2004). Gender differences in stress and coping. Personality and Individual Differences, 27, 1401–1415.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maybery, D., Reupert, A., Patrick, K., Goodyear, M., & Crase, L. (2005). VicHealth research report on children at risk in families affected by parental mental illness, Victorian Health Promotion Foundation Mental Health and Wellbeing Unit. Retrieved from www.vichealth.vic.gov.au.Google Scholar
McLaughlin, K. A., Green, J. G., Gruber, M. J., Sampson, N. A., Zaslavsky, A. M., & Kessler, R. C. (2010). Childhood adversities and adult psychiatric disorders in the national comorbidity survey replication II: Associations with persistence of DSM-IV disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 67 (2), 124–132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McLaughlin, K. A., Koenen, K. C., Hill, E. D., Petukhova, M., Sampson, N. A., Zaslavsky, A. M., . . . Kessler, R. C. (2009). Trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder in a national sample of adolescents. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 52 (8), 815–830.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mental Health Coordinating Council (MHCC). (2010). Consultation on the development of a national approach to trauma-informed care & practice (TICP). Retrieved from http://www.mhcc.org.au/media/11935/nat-strategy-ticp-lit-rev-19-05-2010.pdf.Google Scholar
Mental Health Coordinating Council (MHCC). (2013). Trauma-informed care and practice: Towards a cultural shift in policy reform across mental health and human services in Australia, a national strategic direction, position paper and recommendations of the national trauma-informed care and practice advisory working group. Authors: J. Bateman, C. Henderson (MHCC), & C. Kezelman, (Adults Surviving Child Abuse, ASCA). Retrieved from http://mhcc.org.au/media/32045/ticp_awg_position_paper__v_44_final___07_11_13.pdf.Google Scholar
Mueser, K. T., Goodman, L. B., Trumbetta, S. L., Rosenberg, S. D., Osher, F. C., Vidaver, R., . . . Foy, D. W. (1998). Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in severe mental illness. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66 (3), 493–499.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mueser, K. T., Salyers, M. P., Rosenberg, S. D., Goodman, L. A., Essock, S. M., Osher, F. C., . . . Butterfield, M. I. (2004). Interpersonal trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in patients with severe mental illness: Demographic, clinical, and health correlates. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 30 (1), 45–57.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Münzer, A., Fegert, J. M., & Goldbeck, L. (2015). Trauma history and posttraumatic stress symptoms among children and adolescents attending a mental health service. Psychiatrische Praxis, 42 (2), 96–101. doi:10.1055Google ScholarPubMed
Nicholson, J., Biebel, K., Kinden, B., Henry, A., & Stier, L. (2001). Critical issues for parents with mental illness and their families. Centre for Mental Health Services. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHS]. Retrieved from http://works.bepress.com/joanne_nicholson/41Google Scholar
Olesen, S., MacDonald, E., & Raphael, B. (2010). Children's exposure to parental and familial adversities: Findings from a population survey of Australians. Family Matters, 84, 43–52.Google Scholar
Rigby, K., & Slee, P. T. (1991). Bullying among Australian school children: Reported behaviour and attitudes towards victims. The Journal of Social Psychology, 131, 615–627. doi:10.1080/00224545.1991.9924646CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rigby, K., & Slee, P. T. (1999). Suicidal ideation among adolescent school children, involvement in bully/victim problems and perceived low social support. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 29, 119–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rodgers, B. (1996). Social and psychological wellbeing of children from divorced families: Australian research findings. Australian Psychologist, 31 (3), 174–182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rossiter, A., Byrne, F., Wota, A. P., Nisar, Z., Ofuafor, T., Murray, I., . . . Hallahan, B. (2015). Childhood trauma levels in individuals attending adult mental health services: An evaluation of clinical records and structured measurement of childhood trauma. Child Abuse & Neglect, 44, 36–45. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.01.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rutter, M., & Quinton, D. (1984). Parental psychiatric disorder: Effects on children. Psychological Medicine, 14, 853–880.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sawyer, M. G., Arney, F. M., Baghurst, P. A., Graetz, B. W., Kosky, R. J., Nurcombe, B., . . . . Zubrick, S. R. (2001). The mental health of young people in Australia: Key findings from the child and adolescent component of the national survey of mental health and well-being. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 35 (6), 806–814.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scheeringa, M. S., & Zeanah, C. H. (2008). Reconsideration of harm's way: Onsets and comorbidity patterns of disorders in preschool children and their caregivers following hurricane katrina. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 37 (3), 508–518.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shevlin, M., Dorahy, M., & Adamson, G. (2007). Trauma and psychosis: An analysis of the national comorbidity survey. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164 (1), 166–169.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Slee, P. (1993). Children, stressful life events and school adjustment: An Australian study. Educational psychology. An International Journal of Experimental Educational Psychology, 13 (1), 3–10.Google Scholar
Slee, P. T., Murray-Harvey, R., & Ward, H. (1996). Stressed out and growing up. Every Child, 2 (4).Google Scholar
Storr, C. L., lalongo, N. S., James, J. C., & Breslau, N. (2007). Childhood antecedents of exposure to traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 119–125.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Toner, J., Daiches, A., & Larkin, W. (2013). Asking about trauma: The experiences of psychological therapists in early intervention services. Psychosis, 5, 175–186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trickey, D., Siddaway, A. P., Meiser-Stedman, R., Serpell, L., & Field, A. P. (2012). A meta-analysis of risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents. Clinical Psychological Review, 32 (2), 122–138.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van der Kolk, B. A. (2005). Developmental trauma disorder: Toward a rational diagnosis for children with complex trauma histories. Psychiatric Annals, 35 (5), 401–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Victorian Government. (2010). Department of education and early childhhood's building respectful and safe schools. Retrieved from: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/social/physed/Pages/preventionsupp.aspx.Google Scholar
Wagner, C., Abela, J. R. Z., & Brozina, K. (2006). A comparison of stress measures in children and adolescents: A self-report checklist versus an objectively rated interview. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 28, 251–261. doi:10.1007/s10862-005-9010-9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, K., Forgás, J., & von Hippel, W. (Eds.). (2005). The social outcast: Ostracism, social exclusion, rejection, and bullying. New York, NY: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Zubrick, S. R., Silburn, S. R., Lawrence, D. M., Mitrou, F. G., Dalby, R. B., Blair, E. M., . . . Li, J. (2005). The Western Australian aboriginal child health survey: The social and emotional wellbeing of aboriginal children and young people. Perth: Curtin University of Technology and Telethon Institute for Child Health Research.Google Scholar