In this commentary, I engage with selected ideas from Mendes' paper, examining childhood trauma and the (dis) configuration of the Self. First, I focus on what the possibilities of a more ...triadically-inflected analysis of the relationship between the patient, her mother, and father may offer us in understanding the recalcitrant effects of trauma inside a culturally gendered triad. Second, I reflect on the foregrounded traumatogenic events surrounding the patient's maternal loss, and highlight the role of her father as a potential driver of iatrogenic traumatic outcomes that are further consolidated within the Self. Third, I reflect obliquely on issues of training, focusing on the centrality of language in conveying clinical material, as a critical basis for generating compelling and credible sources of evidence in psychoanalytic writing. Finally, I conclude with reflections on the possibilities and limitations of theoretical diversity and pluralism, that have characterized much of the contemporary Relational Paradigm.
Background Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is associated with many childhood diseases and poor health outcomes in adulthood. However, the association with childhood obesity is ...inconsistent. We investigated the association between reported cumulative ACE score and body mass index (BMI) in a large sample of patients at a single institution. Methods This cross-sectional study included children aged 2-20 years that were screened in a general pediatrics clinic for ACEs utilizing the Center for Youth Wellness ACEs questionnaire between July 2017 and July 2018. Overall ACE score was categorized as 'no exposure' (score = 0), 'low exposure' (score = 1), and 'high exposure' (scoregreater than or equal to 2). BMI was categorized as overweight/obese (BMI percentile greater than or equal to 85) or non-obese (BMI percentile 85). The association between ACEs score and obesity was determined using univariate and multivariable logistic regression. Results Of the 948 patients included in the study, 30% (n = 314) were overweight/obese and 53% (n = 504) had no ACE exposure, 19% (n = 179) had low ACE exposure, and 28% (n = 265) had high ACE exposure. High ACE exposure was associated with increased odds of obesity (OR = 1.47, 95%CI = 1.07-2.03, p = 0.026). However, after adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, insurance type, and birth weight, the association attenuated and was null (OR = 1.01, 95%CI = 0.70-1.46, p = 0.97). Conclusion The study findings may suggest an association between ACE and childhood obesity. However, the association attenuated after adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, insurance type, and birth weight. Larger prospective studies are warranted to better understand the association.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) are associated with substance use in adolescence and adulthood. However, there is a lack of longitudinal research examining the effect of ACE on substance use ...trajectories from adolescence through emerging adulthood.
This study examined the role of ACE in substance use trajectories among Hispanic emerging adults.
We surveyed a cohort of Hispanic adolescents (n = 1399) in Southern California across eight survey waves (beginning in 9th grade and continuing through emerging adulthood).
Growth curve models were used to examine the effect of ACE on past 30-day cigarette, marijuana, and alcohol use over seven time points, and an interaction term of ACE ∗ time was included to investigate the cross-level effect of ACE.
ACE was a significant predictor at 9th grade across all substances. Every additional ACE was associated with significantly higher past 30-day cigarette use (β = 0.05, 95%CI = 0.01, 0.10), marijuana use, (β = 0.15, 95%CI = 0.06, 0.25) and alcohol use (β = 0.14, 95%CI = 0.06, 0.21). Across all models, cross level interactions between ACE and time indicated that young adults exposed to more ACE experience significantly steeper inclining trajectories of 30-day cigarette use (β = 0.05, 95%CI = 0.02, 0.68), marijuana use (β = 0.07, 95%CI = 0.03, 0.11), and alcohol use (β = 0.02, 95%CI = 0.02, 0.68) than young adults with fewer ACE.
ACE continue to have an impact on substance use trends through emerging adulthood. Results highlight the graded effect of ACE on substance use during and beyond adolescence and illustrate that ACE exposure is linked to an escalation of substance use frequency.
•There is a dose-response relationship with ACE and substance use in adolescence and in emerging adulthood.•The cross-level effect of ACE indicates that ACE is a critical risk factor in substance use trajectories.•Substance use trajectories in those with more ACE are not constant, rather higher levels of ACE may exacerbate use.•ACE effects are ubiquitous across populations, including Hispanics, and highlight the need for ACE screening and prevention.
Background: Epidemiological studies show that adverse childhood experiences (ACE) are associated with positive psychotic symptoms in Western populations; however, there is a lack of population-based ...data in multi-ethnic, Asian societies. Objective: We investigated the associations between ACE (type and dosage) and positive psychotic symptoms in a nationally representative study in Singapore. Participants and setting: A total of 4441 adult Singapore residents were recruited via door-to-door surveys; they were assessed for ACE and positive psychotic symptoms (i.e., hallucinations, delusions, thought insertion, thought control, and telepathic powers) on structured interviews. Methods: Lifetime experiences of positive psychotic symptoms were regressed on (1) the experience of any ACE; (2) cumulative ACE; and (3) the experience of either no ACE, interpersonal victimization only, dysfunctional home environments only, neglect only or multiple exposures to ACE in weighted and adjusted regression models. Results: 5.2 % of the sample experienced positive psychotic symptoms during their lifetime. Individuals exposed to dysfunctional home environments (OR = 2.84, 95 % CI 1.26 to 6.37) and multiple adverse childhood experiences (OR = 3.31, 95 % CI 2.18 to 5.01) were at an elevated risk of experiencing positive psychotic symptoms. The exposure to three or more ACE was associated with a near five-fold higher risk of experiencing positive psychotic symptoms (OR = 4.51, 95 % CI 2.89 to 7.05). Conclusions: Individuals exposed to dysfunctional home environments or multiple adverse childhood experiences are at an elevated risk of experiencing positive psychotic symptoms. Given the intrafamilial nature of these childhood adversities, dual-generation approaches and family-centered interventions are key.
Research from multiple disciplines has reported that exposure to childhood traumatic events, often referred to as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), increases an individual’s chances of ...experiencing a wide variety of negative consequences such as chronic disease, unemployment, and involvement in serious, violent, and chronic offending. The current study assesses how protective factors from social bonds may moderate the relationship between ACEs and future offending in a sample of high-risk adjudicated youth. While results showed that increased ACE exposure led to a higher likelihood of rearrest and more social bonds lowered the likelihood of rearrest, in contrast to expectations, the analyses revealed that stronger social bonds did not reduce the deleterious effects of exposure to more types of ACEs on recidivism. A discussion of these findings is offered, along with study limitations and future directions.
Vaccine hesitancy (VH) has been a major contributor to large outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases globally, including in the United States.
Data from the 2019–2022 National Immunization Surveys ...were analyzed to assess parental hesitancy toward routine vaccination of their children aged 6 months −17 years. Joinpoint regression was employed to investigate trends in VH from 2019 to 2022 nationally overall and among socio-demographic subgroups. Using logistic regression, the difference between the prevalence of VH before and after the authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 6 months-4 years, 5–11 years, and 12–17 years was computed. Both unadjusted and adjusted estimates were reported. VH was also compared within each socio-demographic subgroup with a reference level, at two-time points— before and after the authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine for each age group.
Overall, VH remained around 19.0 % from Q2 2019 to Q3 2022. Parents of non-Hispanic Black children had the largest average quarterly decrease in VH (β = -0.55; p < 0.05 by test for trend). After the authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 6 months to 4 years, the adjusted percentage of children having parents that reported VH decreased by 2.2 (95 % CI: −3.9, −0.6) percentage points (pp) from 21.6 % to 19.4 %. Conversely, for children aged 5–11 years, VH increased by 1.2 (95 % CI: 0.2, 2.3) pp, from 19.8 % to 21.0 %. VH among parents of non-Hispanic Black children decreased after the authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents aged 12–17 years but remained significantly higher compared to parents of non-Hispanic White children before and after authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine for all age groups.
About 1 in 5 children had parents reporting VH from 2019 to 2022. Parental VH increased after the authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5–11 years and declined for children aged 6 months-4 years.
Drawing on the thoughts of Jacques Rancière, this open access book seeks to understand the politics of childhood art by attending to the relational matters in children’s artistic practices rather ...than the linear age-based developmental theories which often limit children’s creativity. Weaving Rancière’s ideas on pedagogy, politics, and aesthetics, with a research study at a Kindergarten classroom in the USA and the author’s own art experiences in South Korea as a child, Hayon Park discusses the politics and ethics of teacher-led art projects, children’s popular culture, and adult-child drawing companionship. The author argues that childhood art and in education is inherently political and relational as, from an early age, children are acutely aware of monitoring, categorisation, and the potential oppression of their art making and learning. Offering a post-structural, reconceptualist approach to art education, Park argues for new emancipatory practices and pedagogies, which encourage children's creativity and activate curiosity. The eBook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com.
There is limited research on the role of childhood trauma in personality pathology according to Kernberg's psychodynamic model of internalized object relations. Because childhood trauma reflects the ...disruptions of these relations, it is expected to predict borderline personality organization, especially at the threshold of adulthood. Therefore, the main aim of this retrospective study was to examine the impact of childhood trauma on borderline personality organization in a community sample of emerging adults. Participants were 543 Greek individuals aged 18–29 (M = 21.45; 58.6 % females; 85.1 % university students). They completed the Greek versions of the Traumatic Antecedents Questionnaire (TAQ) and the Inventory of Personality Organization (IPO), which were tested for their factorial structure, reliability, and measurement invariance across gender, as few empirical data exist on the psychometric properties of these measures. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the TAQ consisted of four factors, namely positive experiences, abuse, traumatic life events, and family chaos. The five-factor theoretical structure of the IPO, namely primitive defenses, identity diffusion, reality testing, aggression, and moral values, was confirmed. Low to moderate links between childhood trauma and borderline personality organization were found, with stronger links emerging for abuse and family chaos. Structural equation modeling showed that the various forms of childhood trauma across the age periods studied (i.e., 0–6, 7–12, 13–18) significantly and differentially predicted the dimensions of borderline personality organization. The finding that stronger links emerged when trauma occurred in older ages may be attributed to the retrospective method of the study. Gender differences were also found; for example, personality pathology was more likely in men when abuse and traumatic life events occurred in younger ages and abuse was a more important risk factor for personality pathology in women. This study highlights the impact of childhood adversity on personality pathology in emerging adulthood, provides empirical support for Kernberg's psychodynamic model, and has useful implications for trauma-informed early screening, prevention, and intervention regarding personality pathology in young people. Limitations of this study and suggestions for future research are outlined.
Childhood adversity, which is related to negative cognitive consequences, is highly prevalent across the world. Nonetheless, there is still a scarcity of research on late-life cognitive function that ...accounted for multiple aspects of adverse events as well as the potential mediating mechanism of social context and individual's wellbeing in adulthood.
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between childhood adversities and late-life cognitive function among the middle-aged and older Chinese population and to determine the mediating role of education attainment, marital status, financial status, and self-rated health in adulthood.
We used three waves of data from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study from 2011 to 2015, which consisted of 23 807 participants aged 45 years and older. Generalized Estimating Equation and Structural Equation Model were applied to examine the association between childhood adversities and cognitive function (mental intactness and episodic memory) and the corresponding potential mechanisms.
Overall, 77.25%, 64.55%, 38.38%, and 15.03% of respondents experienced socioeconomic disadvantage, parental involved trauma, maladaptive parental trauma, and other trauma in childhood, respectively. Multivariate analyses suggest that all four types of childhood adversities were associated with a lower score of mental intactness and the first three were associated with episodic memory. A large proportion of the associations between childhood adversity and cognitive function was mainly mediated by education attainment, self-rated health and marital status in adulthood.
There are negative linkages between childhood adversities and cognitive function in the middle-aged and older Chinese population. Such associations were primarily functioning indirectly through adult social context and health conditions.
•Negative early adversity-late cognition linkages among the Chinese population.•Four types of adversity independently associated with mental intactness and memory.•The linkages were mainly indirect effects through adult social context and health.•Education accounted for the most of the mediating effects on these linkages.
PDF
