Annual Research Review
Annual Research Review: Rethinking childhood trauma-new research directions for measurement, study design and analytical strategies
Andrea Danese,
Corresponding Author
Andrea Danese
Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King’s College London, London, UK
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
National and Specialist CAMHS Clinic for Trauma, Anxiety, and Depression, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
Correspondence
Andrea Danese, Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK; Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorAndrea Danese,
Corresponding Author
Andrea Danese
Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King’s College London, London, UK
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
National and Specialist CAMHS Clinic for Trauma, Anxiety, and Depression, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
Correspondence
Andrea Danese, Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK; Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorRead the Commentary on this article at doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13195
Conflict of interest statement: No conflicts declared.
Abstract
Childhood trauma is a key modifiable risk factor for psychopathology. Despite significant scientific advances, traumatised children still have poorer long-term outcomes than nontraumatised children. New research paradigms are, thus, needed. To this end, the review examines three dominant assumptions about measurement, design and analytical strategies. Current research warns against using prospective and retrospective measures of childhood trauma interchangeably; against interpreting cross-sectional differences in putative mediating mechanisms between adults with or without a history of childhood trauma as evidence of longitudinal changes from pre-trauma conditions; and against directly applying explanatory models of resilience or vulnerability to psychopathology in traumatised children to forecast individual risk in unseen cases. The warnings equally apply to research on broader measures of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Further research examining these assumptions can generate new insights on how to prevent childhood trauma and its detrimental effects.
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