Latent classes of childhood trauma exposure predict the development of behavioral health outcomes in adolescence and young adulthood
Abstract
Background: To develop latent classes of exposure to traumatic experiences before the age of 13 years in an urban community sample and to use these latent classes to predict the development of negative behavioral outcomes in adolescence and young adulthood. Method: A total of 1815 participants in an epidemiologically based, randomized field trial as children completed comprehensive psychiatric assessments as young adults. Reported experiences of nine traumatic experiences before age 13 years were used in a latent class analysis to create latent profiles of traumatic experiences. Latent classes were used to predict psychiatric outcomes at age ⩾13 years, criminal convictions, physical health problems and traumatic experiences reported in young adulthood. Results: Three latent classes of childhood traumatic experiences were supported by the data. One class (8% of sample), primarily female, was characterized by experiences of sexual assault and reported significantly higher rates of a range of psychiatric outcomes by young adulthood. Another class (8%), primarily male, was characterized by experiences of violence exposure and reported higher levels of antisocial personality disorder and post-traumatic stress. The final class (84%) reported low levels of childhood traumatic experiences. Parental psychopathology was related to membership in the sexual assault group. Conclusions: Classes of childhood traumatic experiences predict specific psychiatric and behavioral outcomes in adolescence and young adulthood. The long-term adverse effects of childhood traumas are primarily concentrated in victims of sexual and non-sexual violence. Gender emerged as a key covariate in the classes of trauma exposure and outcomes.
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Utilizing latent class analysis to quantify maltreatment exposure is becoming more prevalent in maltreatment literature.
“Utilizing latent class analysis to quantify maltreatment exposure is becoming more prevalent in maltreatment literature (Roesch et al. 2010; Ballard et al. 2015).”
From Childhood adversity, adult stress, and the risk of major depression or generalized anxiety disorder in US soldiers: a test of the stress sensitization hypothesis (2017) · cites this paper as Ballard et al. 2015
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BackgroundTesting the number of components in a normal mixture
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Bandoli, G., Campbell-Sills, L., Kessler, R. C., Heeringa, S. G., Nock, M. K., Rosellini, A. J., Sampson, N. A., Schoenbaum, M., Ursano, R. J., & Stein, M. B. (2017) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291717001064 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
- Authors
- Ballard, E. D., Van Eck, K., Musci, R. J., Hart, S. R., Storr, C. L., Breslau, N., & Wilcox, H. C.
- Affiliations
- National Institute of Mental Health (US)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- California State University, Chico (US)
- University of Maryland, Baltimore (US)
- Michigan State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Ballard, E. D.
- Venue
- Psychological Medicine
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2015-07-07
- Volume
- 45
- Issue
- 15
- Pages
- 3305-3316
- ISSN
- 0033-2917 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-8978
- OpenAlex
- W1919375181
- Cited by
- 119
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 9
- FWCI
- 16.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (5r24da019805-05)
- National Institute of Mental Health (MH71395, R21MH090480, R01MH071395, MH090480, R01MH048802, MH-48802)
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA04392, R01DA004392, DA 09897, R01DA009897, DA019805)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- childhood trauma, sexual assault, violence exposure, antisocial personality disorder, post-traumatic stress, mental health outcomes, criminal conviction, physical health problems, parental psychopathology, gender differences, adolescence, early adulthood, urban communities
- MeSH terms
- Criminal Behavior, Psychological Trauma, Adult Survivors of Child Adverse Events, Adolescent, Adult, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Mental Disorders, Child Abuse, Female, Health Status, Humans, Male, Suicide, Adult Survivors of Child Abuse, Young Adult
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