Project 457496

Children who have experienced multiple types or repeated exposures to interpersonal victimization in the context of a caregiving relationship (i.e., developmental trauma) exhibit a wide range of neurodevelopmental, physiological, psychological, and emotional symptoms that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) fails to capture. As a result, these children and youth are often classified as complex and hard to treat. With more than 1 billion children being victims of interpersonal violence, annually, approximately 50% having multiple experiences of victimization, and nearly 90% of victimization occurring in the context of relationships with primary caregivers, developmental trauma can be considered a public health crisis. However, there is currently a lack of longitudinal research on the unique consequences of developmental trauma pertaining to individual symptoms, family functioning, and economic costs. My research will address this gap by examining: (1) how exposure to developmental trauma influences children's symptom profiles over time, (2) how children's developmental trauma symptoms relate to specific family relational dynamics and types of family stress over time, and (3) what the relative health and social service utilization expenditures are for children who have experienced developmental trauma versus those who have not. Data from the Child Resilience and Managing Pandemic Emotional Distress in Families (CRAMPED) cohort, an ongoing longitudinal study with a multi-national, sample of 549 families with two children between 5 and 18 years, will be used for this research. The multilevel and longitudinal nature of my research program will clarify how the consequences of developmental trauma permeate through individuals, families, and societies and will provide guidance for diagnostic considerations, individual and family interventions, and policy directives, thereby enhancing our nation's response to the epidemic of childhood victimization.