Trauma exposure among young children in rural Pakistan: Associations with gender, mental health, and cognitive skills.

Autor: Frost A; Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA. allisonfrost@unc.edu., Collins A; Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA., Chung EO; RTI International, Berkeley, CA, USA., Escobar Carias MS; Department of Economics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia., Hagaman A; Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.; Center for Methods in Implementation and Prevention Science, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, USA., Gupta S; Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA., Bibi A; Human Development Research Foundation, Islamabad, Pakistan.; Global Institute of Human Development, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad, Pakistan., Sikander S; Department of Primary Care & Mental Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.; Pakistan Institute of Living and Learning, Karachi, Pakistan., Maselko J; Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.; Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: BMC psychology [BMC Psychol] 2024 Aug 25; Vol. 12 (1), pp. 454. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Aug 25.
DOI: 10.1186/s40359-024-01944-x
Abstrakt: Background: The burden of childhood trauma (violence, injury/illness, loss) in low-resource settings is high, although the effect of trauma on children's mental and cognitive health is under-researched. Child gender may moderate the association between trauma and outcomes; boys are more likely to experience trauma, but girls are more likely to show distress following trauma.
Methods: We draw on data from the Bachpan cohort (n = 888), a sample of mother-child dyads in rural Pakistan, to investigate these associations among 6-year-old children in a South Asian, low-resource setting. Mothers reported on children's lifetime exposure to 15 possible traumas and their current mental health. In addition, children were assessed for their verbal skills, working memory, and inhibitory control. We estimated trauma prevalence and used generalized estimating equations to test the association between number of traumatic events and child mental health and cognitive skills in the overall sample and by gender.
Results: 90.5% of children experienced at least one trauma. The most common traumas were death of a loved one (47%) and hearing about war/terrorism on the TV/radio (48%). On average, boys experienced more traumas (M = 3.00) than girls (M = 2.67). Specifically, boys were more likely than girls to experience an injury or hospitalization (30% vs. 21%, p < .05) and to hear about war/terrorism on the TV/radio (52% vs. 43%, p < .05). Trauma was associated with increased mental health difficulties and increased anxiety scores. There was little evidence that trauma exposure was associated with child cognitive skills. The strength of association between trauma and outcomes was similar for boys and girls.
Conclusions: Findings show that childhood trauma exposure is common in this setting and associated with worse mental health problems among young boys and girls. Results suggest that trauma-informed interventions are important for supporting child mental health in South Asia.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz: