A developmental approach to complex PTSD: Childhood and adult cumulative trauma as predictors of symptom complexity

Marylene Cloitre; Bradley C. Stolbach; Judith L. Herman; Bessel van der Kolk; Robert Pynoos; Jing Wang; Eva Petkova

doi:10.1002/jts.20444

journal article Oct 01, 2009

A developmental approach to complex PTSD: Childhood and adult cumulative trauma as predictors of symptom complexity

Marylene Cloitre Bradley C. Stolbach Judith L. Herman Bessel van der Kolk Robert Pynoos Jing Wang

Eva Petkova

Journal of Traumatic Stress Vol. 22 No. 5 pp. 399-408 · Wiley

View at Publisher Save 10.1002/jts.20444

Abstract

AbstractExposure to multiple traumas, particularly in childhood, has been proposed to result in a complex of symptoms that includes posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as a constrained, but variable group of symptoms that highlight self‐regulatory disturbances. The relationship between accumulated exposure to different types of traumatic events and total number of different types of symptoms (symptom complexity) was assessed in an adult clinical sample (N = 582) and a child clinical sample (N = 152). Childhood cumulative trauma but not adulthood trauma predicted increasing symptom complexity in adults. Cumulative trauma predicted increasing symptom complexity in the child sample. Results suggest that Complex PTSD symptoms occur in both adult and child samples in a principled, rule‐governed way and that childhood experiences significantly influenced adult symptoms.

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Citations

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References

Details

Published: Oct 01, 2009
Vol/Issue: 22(5)
Pages: 399-408
License: View

Authors

University of Basel

Cite This Article

Marylene Cloitre, Bradley C. Stolbach, Judith L. Herman, et al. (2009). A developmental approach to complex PTSD: Childhood and adult cumulative trauma as predictors of symptom complexity. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 22(5), 399-408. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20444

A developmental approach to complex PTSD: Childhood and adult cumulative trauma as predictors of symptom complexity

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