About this session

Friday, 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Nuances in Trauma and Adversity: Informing Prevention and Intervention Strategies

While research has highlighted the detrimental effects of trauma and adversity, there remains a gap in understanding the specific patterns of trauma and effective interventions. The original Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Study, which views ACEs as a cumulative risk score, fails to provide actionable intervention strategies (McLennan et al., 2020). This symposium bridges basic and intervention research to offer concrete recommendations for preventing and treating trauma and adversity. By employing person-centered statistical models, like latent class analysis (LCA), as well as intervention research on diverse study populations, the research presented in this symposium aims to enhance behavioral health and social-emotional functioning in children and adolescents exposed to adversities like ACEs, child maltreatment, interparental violence, parents’ military-related trauma, and economic adversity.

Study 1 applies LCA to data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, identifying ACE profiles that influence adolescent alcohol-related attitudes and behaviors. Study 2 utilizes LCA on Future of Families and Child Well-being Study to explore how child maltreatment and maternal experiences of intimate partner violence co-occur and impact children's behavioral regulation. Study 3 uses LCA on data from veteran parents to reveal patterns of parents’ pre-military trauma. Finally, Study 4 is an intervention research project that tests the efficacy of Room to Grow, a multifaceted intervention aimed at improving cognitively stimulating home environments, parenting practices, and parents’ mental health for children living in economic adversity. Our studies provide valuable insights into the impacts of distinctive patterns of trauma and adversities, as well as effective interventions.

Paper #1
Title	Patterns of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Early Alcohol Attitudes and Behaviors
Presenting author	Sara A. Vasilenko, Ph.D., Syracuse University, United States

Paper #2
Title	Co-Occurrence of Child Maltreatment and Exposure to Interparental Violence: Implications for Early Childhood Behavioral Regulation.
Presenting author	Ying Zhang, Ph.D., Clarkson University, United States

Paper #3
Title	Nuances of Trauma: A Latent Class Analysis of Pre-Military Trauma Among Veteran Parents
Presenting author	Dr. Xiafei Wang, Ph.D., Syracuse University, United States

Paper #4
Title	Lessons Learned from Room to Grow: A Multifaceted Intervention for Young Children Experiencing Economic Adversity
Presenting author	Zelle (Allyson) Crawford, M.Ed., evolutionforward, United States

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Session chairs
Dr. Xiafei Wang, Ph.D., Syracuse University, United States; Ying Zhang, Ph.D., , United States

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