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Symposia

Violence / Aggression

Questioning Assumptions to Innovate the Fields of Trauma, Adversity, and Family Violence

2 - (SYM 59) The Significance of Individuals' Experiences in the Measurement of Dimensions of Trauma and Adversity

Saturday, November 16, 2024
8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EST
Location: Grand Ballroom A. Level 5, Downtown Marriott
Abstract Body
Potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and other adverse experiences are widespread in human society and connected to risk for various detrimental outcomes. Understanding the nature of trauma and adversity holds significance for foundational research, intervention efforts, and policy enhancements. However, a shared understanding of these constructs has yet to be reached. The threat-deprivation framework, which posits that childhood adverse events can be differentiated according to whether they represent threats of physical harm vs. experiences of deprivation, has demonstrated value for understanding the influence of early environmental experiences on brain and behavioral development (McLaughlin & Sheridan, 2016). However, this framework relies on assumptions based solely on the descriptive nature of events, rather than allowing participants to report the degree of threat or deprivation they experienced. The current study tests the validity of the assumptions made in the threat-deprivation model while bridging the traditionally distinct trauma and adversity research fields and examining social threat as a potentially critical third dimension. Indeed, despite social connection being an inherent aspect of the human experience, threat to social relationships is often overlooked as a fundamental dimension of trauma and adversity that can significantly impact how individuals navigate such events to shape trajectories of health outcomes (Umberson & Montez, 2010). The 448 participants in the CIRCLES Study reported on their experiences of 44 PTEs and other adverse events in terms of the degree to which they experienced deprivation, physical threat, and social threat. Multilevel models showed that, among events assumed to be linked to physical threat, individuals' ratings of physical threat significantly exceeded their ratings of deprivation, thus validating the nature of this dimension. However, among events assumed to be linked to deprivation, individuals' ratings of deprivation were not different from their ratings of physical threat, thus questioning assumptions made for this dimension. Additionally, across all events, participants provided high and variable ratings of social threat, indicating that social threat is a core dimension of adverse experiences, likely with important clinical utility. To further bridge these research fields, we will also present data on how the developmental timing of adverse event exposure may contribute to variations in individuals’ experiences.