Peer-reviewed article
Potentially traumatic events in foster youth, and association with DSM-5 trauma- and stressor related symptoms
Stine Lehmann, Kyrre Breivik, Sébastien Monette, Helen Minnis ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined 303 foster youth in Norway aged 11-17 to understand how potentially traumatic events relate to trauma-related disorders. On average, foster youth reported experiencing 3.44 traumatic events each, and over half showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The study found that the number of traumatic events was strongly associated with PTSD and some attachment disorder symptoms, but not others, suggesting different types of trauma-related conditions may develop through different pathways.
Key points
- Foster youth reported an average of 3.44 potentially traumatic events each (range 0-15)
- 52.9% of foster youth reported PTSD symptoms at or above clinical cut-off
- Number of traumatic events was strongly associated with PTSD (r = .66) and emotion dysregulation symptoms (r = .28) but not with failure to seek comfort
- Association with Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder was weak (r = .11)
- The study highlights the need for assessment to encompass multiple types of traumatic events, not just single incidents
Limitations
This is a cross-sectional study measuring associations, not causation, so we cannot determine whether traumatic events caused the symptoms or vice versa. The study does not describe the specific types of traumatic events experienced or provide detailed demographic information about the foster youth sample.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In DSM 5, three disorders are related to trauma and/or maltreatment: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) and Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder (DSED) but how these disorders relate to each other and to traumatic events is unknown. OBJECTIVE: We examined 1. Prevalence of Potentially Traumatic Events (PTEs) and poly-victimization for youths in foster care. 2. Associations between single/multiple PTEs and PTSD, DSED, and the two symptom-clusters that constitute RAD: Failure to seek/accept comfort (RAD A), and Low social-emotional responsiveness/ emotion dysregulation (RAD B). PARTICIPANTS, SETTING AND METHODS: Foster youth 11-17 years (N = 303) in Norway completed The Child and Adolescent Trauma Screen. Foster parents completed the RAD and DSED Assessment interview. RESULTS: Foster youth reported experiencing, on average, 3.44 PTEs each (range 0-15, SD 3.33), and 52.9 % reported PTSD symptoms at or above clinical cut off. The PTE sum score was associated with the latent factors PTSD (r = .66, p < 0.001), RAD cluster B symptoms (Low social-emotional responsiveness / emotion dysregulation, r = .28, p < 0.001) and DSED (r = .11, p = 0.046), but not with RAD cluster A symptoms (Failure to seek/accept comfort). CONCLUSIONS: These findings raise new questions about the nature, mechanisms and timing of development of RAD and DSED. Maltreatment assessment needs to encompass a wide range of PTEs, and consider poly-victimization.