Cumulative childhood trauma and complex psychiatric symptoms in pregnant women and expecting men

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

Nicolas Berthelot¹  Roxanne Lemieux²  Julia Garon-Bissonnette³  Marie-Ève Grisé Bolduc⁴ 

[1] Centre d’études interdisciplinaires sur le développement de l’enfant et la famille, Québec, Canada;CERVO Brain Research Center, Québec, Canada;Interdisciplinary Research Center on Intimate Relationship Problems and Sexual Abuse, Québec, Canada;Groupe de recherche et d’intervention auprès de l’enfant vulnérable et négligé, Québec, Canada;Department of Nursing Sciences, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, PO Box 500, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada;Centre d’études interdisciplinaires sur le développement de l’enfant et la famille, Québec, Canada;Groupe de recherche et d’intervention auprès de l’enfant vulnérable et négligé, Québec, Canada;Department of Nursing Sciences, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, PO Box 500, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada;Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada;Centre d’études interdisciplinaires sur le développement de l’enfant et la famille, Québec, Canada;CERVO Brain Research Center, Québec, Canada;Interdisciplinary Research Center on Intimate Relationship Problems and Sexual Abuse, Québec, Canada;Groupe de recherche et d’intervention auprès de l’enfant vulnérable et négligé, Québec, Canada;Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada;Centre d’études interdisciplinaires sur le développement de l’enfant et la famille, Québec, Canada;Groupe de recherche et d’intervention auprès de l’enfant vulnérable et négligé, Québec, Canada;

关键词: child abuse;    complex trauma;    symptom complexity;    mental health;    pregnancy;    prenatal;    antenatal;    mothers;    fathers;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12884-021-04327-x

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundWomen and men having been exposed to childhood trauma would be at high risk of various mental health symptoms while awaiting a child. This study aimed to evaluate the association between cumulative childhood trauma and the accumulation of symptoms belonging to different psychiatric problems in pregnant women and expecting men.MethodsWe first examined prevalence rates of childhood trauma across our samples of 2853 pregnant women and 561 expecting men from the community. Second, we evaluated the association between cumulative childhood trauma and symptom complexity (i.e., the simultaneous presentation of symptoms belonging to multiple psychiatric problems) using subsamples of 1779 pregnant women and 118 expecting men. Participants completed self-reported measures of trauma (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire) and psychiatric symptoms (PTSD Checklist for DSM-5; Kessler Psychological Distress Scale; State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2; Self and Interpersonal Functioning Scale).ResultsTrauma was more frequent in pregnant women than in expecting men and in participants reporting sociodemographic risk factors than in those not reporting any. A dose-response relationship was observed between the number of different traumas reported by pregnant women and expecting men and the complexity of their psychiatric symptoms, even when controlling for the variance explained by other risk factors. Women having been exposed to cumulative childhood trauma were 4.95 times more at risk of presenting comorbid psychiatric problems during pregnancy than non-exposed women.ConclusionsChildhood trauma is frequent in the general population of pregnant women and expecting men and is associated with symptom complexity during the antenatal period. These findings call for delivering and evaluating innovative trauma-informed antenatal programs to support mental health and adaptation to parenthood in adults having been exposed to childhood trauma.

【 授权许可】

CC BY