The effects of traumatic events on vulnerable children in India
Date
2016
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Childhood traumatic experiences and mental health outcomes are major global health problems, especially in low-resource communities. Research in low and middle-income country (LAMIC) contexts is needed in order to better understand the consequences of adverse experiences and trauma exposure in childhood. This study investigated the relations between trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and subsequent aggression and depressive symptoms in a sample of 288 children in rural Tamil Nadu, India. Of the children sampled, 66% reported having experienced a potentially traumatic event (PTE), with an average of 1.45 PTEs. There were marginal gender differences, with girls reporting a higher average number of PTEs. There were no significant gender differences in reported post-traumatic stress symptoms, but older children in the sample did tend to report higher levels of symptom severity. For this sample, PTEs and post-traumatic stress symptoms were highly intercorrelated, and these variables were also positively correlated with levels of depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior one year later. Results of mediation analyses were consistent with the hypothesis that post-traumatic stress symptoms act as a mediator between potentially traumatic events and aggressive behavior one year later. However, results showed that the post-traumatic stress symptoms did not mediate the direct pathway between potentially traumatic events and depressive symptoms one year later. Implications of these results for psychological theory and intervention development in LAMIC contexts are discussed.