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Exposure to traumatic events and health-related quality of life in preschool-aged children

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Abstract

Purpose

To examine the association of lifetime exposure to traumatic events with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and psychosocial health in children aged 3 through 5 years.

Methods

This study is a community-based, cross-sectional survey of 170 children and their parents. Traumatic events were assessed by the Traumatic Events Screening Inventory—Parent Report Revised using criteria for potentially traumatic events in young childhood outlined by the Zero to Three working group. HRQOL of young children was measured using the 97-item Infant/Toddler Quality of Life Questionnaire, and psychosocial health was measured using the Child Behavior Checklist 1.5–5.

Results

One hundred and twenty-three (72 %) of children had experienced at least one type of trauma event. Children who had been exposed to 1–3 types of trauma and those exposed to 4 or more types of trauma had significantly worse HRQOL and psychosocial health than children not exposed to trauma. Significant effect sizes between children exposed to low levels or high levels of traumatic events and children not exposed to trauma ranged from small to large.

Conclusions

Exposure to traumatic events in early childhood is associated with less positive HRQOL and psychosocial health. Cumulative trauma exposure led to significant effects in outcome variables in this population. Interventions to decrease trauma exposure and to reduce significant stress in early childhood associated with exposure to trauma may be appropriate strategies for preventing negative health conditions throughout the life span.

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Abbreviations

HRQOL:

Health-related quality of life

TESI-PRR:

Traumatic Events Screening Inventory—Parent Report Revised

ITQOL:

Infant/Toddler Quality of Life Questionnaire

CBCL:

Child Behavior Checklist

SEM:

Structural equation model

ML:

Maximum likelihood estimation

CFI:

Comparative fit index

RMSEA:

Root mean square error of approximation

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Award Number RC2MD004803 from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. Support for Dr. Roberts was provided by a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded Postdoctoral Research Training Program (T32 DA019426). The content of this manuscript is the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the views of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities or the National Institutes of Health. We acknowledge Meghan Finley, Ph.D., for coordinating and overseeing the study; Jo-Ann Gargiulo, M. P. H., for collecting and managing study data; Roy W. Money, M. S., for managing study data; Lisa Adams, B.A., Alba Castillo, B.A., Jessica Goehrke, B.A., Elizabeth Hammond, B.A, Etienne Holder, B.S., Yania Padilla, B.A., and Stephanie Sanchez, M.A., for collecting and entering study data; Geraldine Tomassi for administrative and programmatic support; and Cindy Y. Huang, Ph.D., for her statistical support. We thank the Risk and Resiliency Lab group and the Investigators Group, Division of Prevention and Community Research, Department of Psychiatry for their helpful comments on the paper. We thank our community partners for supporting, helping to conceptualize, and implementing this study. We especially thank the children and their families who participated in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, The Consultation Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA

    Yvonne Humenay Roberts & Cindy A. Crusto

  2. ABCD, Inc., Bridgeport, CT, USA

    Monette Ferguson

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  1. Yvonne Humenay Roberts
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Correspondence to Yvonne Humenay Roberts.

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Roberts, Y.H., Ferguson, M. & Crusto, C.A. Exposure to traumatic events and health-related quality of life in preschool-aged children. Qual Life Res 22, 2159–2168 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-012-0330-4

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