Developmental Timing of Polyvictimization: Continuity, Change, and Association with Adverse Outcomes in Adolescence

This free Journal Club features the 2019 Article of the Year (Dierkhising, Ford, Branson, Grasso & Lee) on children who have been exposed to multiple and varied traumatic stressors and the differences in outcomes for these polyvictimized children.

One of the study's co-authors, Dr. Julian Ford, will discuss empirical findings on youth who have experienced psychological trauma by the time they reach adolescence and how they vary in the extent and types of trauma that occurred at different points in their childhood. Some youth experience trauma primarily in only one developmental period (e.g., early childhood, middle childhood, or adolescence), but many others have faced multiple types of trauma in several (or all) developmental periods. The authors found that certain scenarios lead to substantial impact on socioemotional adjustment, which has critical implications for the treatment of adolescents.