Dissociation and Posttraumatic Symptoms in Maltreated Preschool Children

Abstract

This study examines dissociation and posttraumatic symptomatology in a sample of maltreated preschool-age children in foster care. Analyses compared Child Behavior Checklist subscale scores for the foster care sample and a community sample, and also examined differences between maltreatment subtypes. Exposure to any type of maltreatment was associated with greater dissociation and posttraumatic symptomatology in this sample. Preschool-age children with documented sexual abuse displayed high levels of posttraumatic symptoms, whereas children with documented physical abuse tended to use dissociation as a primary coping mechanism. The finding that physically abused children had high levels of dissociation confirms previous research with preschoolers.

Keywords:

• dissociation
• PTSD
• maltreatment
• child abuse
• preschoolers

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to our participants and colleagues at Oregon Social Learning Center and the Freyd Dynamics Lab at the University of Oregon. Support for this research was provided by the following grants: DA021424 and DA017592, NIDA, US PHS; and MH059780, NIMH, US PHS. We would also like to acknowledge the Trauma and Oppression Research Fund at the University of Oregon.