1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The present study aims to evaluate the association between cumulative childhood trauma (defined as the experience of multiple forms of abuse and neglect before 18 years old) and the complexity of psychiatric symptoms in pregnant women and expecting men.» (p. 2)

Questions/Hypothèses :
The authors «hypothesized that cumulative childhood trauma would be associated with greater symptom complexity and comorbid psychiatric problems.» (p. 2)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«A sample of 2853 pregnant women […] and a sample of 561 expecting men […] were recruited in the province of Quebec, Canada […].» (p. 2)

Instruments :
Questionnaire

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

The «findings showed a dose-response relationship between the number of different traumas pregnant women and expecting men had been exposed to during their childhood and the accumulation of symptoms belonging to different psychiatric problems, including symptoms of PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder], anxiety, depression, anger and personality disorders. The variance in psychiatric symptomatology explained by childhood trauma was more important than the variance explained by other important sociodemographic risk factors, namely teen pregnancy, having a low income, not having completed high school and being a single parent.» (p. 6-7) «Overall, this study showed that the accumulation of traumatic experiences during childhood and adolescence is associated with complex psychiatric symptoms during pregnancy in men and women, over and beyond the effect of sociodemographic risk factors. These symptoms may in turn compromise the experience of parenting and the development of the child.» (p. 8)