Complex posttraumatic stress disorder in intergenerational trauma transmission among Eritrean asylum-seeking mother-child dyads
Creators: name: Bachem, Rahel
name: Levin, Yafit
name: Yuval, Kim
name: Langer, Nora Korin
name: Solomon, Zahava
name: Bernstein, Amit
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2024
Subjects: Medicine
Neuroscience
Biotechnology
Science Policy
Mental Health

description: <b>Background:</b> Traumatic stress among forcibly displaced people has a variety of adverse consequences beyond individual mental health, including implications for poor socioemotional developmental outcomes for their children post-displacement. <b>Objective:</b> This study explored the intergenerational transmission of maternal ICD-11 Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) and depression among asylum-seeking mothers for their children’s internalizing and externalizing difficulties. <b>Method:</b> Participants were 127 trauma-affected Eritrean mothers of preschool-aged children in Israel. The severity of child difficulties was compared between mothers with probable ICD-11 CPTSD (94.5% comorbid depression), ICD-11 PTSD (48.5% comorbid depression), unimorbid depression, and healthy mothers, using multivariate analyses of variance, while controlling for children’s direct exposure to adverse life experiences. <b>Results:</b> Probable ICD-11 CPTSD and PTSD were present in 23.6% and 26.0% of mothers, respectively. Relative to maternal PTSD, CPTSD was significantly and strongly associated with elevated child internalizing symptoms (<i>d</i> = 2.44) and marginally significantly, although strongly, associated with child externalizing symptoms (<i>d</i> = 1.30). Post-hoc exploratory analyses documented that, relative to maternal PTSD and depression, CPTSD and depression comorbidity was marginally significantly but strongly associated with child internalizing (SMD = .67), but not externalizing symptoms (SMD = .35). <b>Conclusions:</b> Findings implicate maternal CPTSD and comorbid depression in child socio-emotional development and inform clinical assessment, prevention, and intervention to attenuate poor development among children in unstable post-displacement settings. Trauma among forcibly displaced people has a variety of aversive multisystemic consequences, compromising the socioemotional development of non-exposed children.ICD-11 complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) and comorbid depression may be functionally important to elevated risk for maternal intergenerational trauma transmission, even relative to ICD-11 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).To effectively attenuate intergenerational transmission of trauma post-displacement, efforts and resources should be invested in maternal mental health care as well as socio-culturally adapted, trauma-sensitive parenting training. Trauma among forcibly displaced people has a variety of aversive multisystemic consequences, compromising the socioemotional development of non-exposed children. ICD-11 complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) and comorbid depression may be functionally important to elevated risk for maternal intergenerational trauma transmission, even relative to ICD-11 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). To effectively attenuate intergenerational transmission of trauma post-displacement, efforts and resources should be invested in maternal mental health care as well as socio-culturally adapted, trauma-sensitive parenting training.