Investigating the Association Between Parental Absence and Developmental Trauma Disorder Symptoms

The importance of parent-child relationships in social and emotional development is well established. The current study examined the vulnerability to developmental trauma disorder (DTD) symptoms for children who were left behind by their parents due to migration. Using samples from China, we investigated the change pattern of DTD symptoms with respect to scales for affect-physical dysregulation, self-dysregulation, and behavioral dysregulation among left-behind children in comparison to their peers. The results of a hierarchical linear model analysis indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in affect-physical dysregulation, self-dysregulation, or behavioral dysregulation between left-behind children and their counterparts at age 13, η_p ² = .00-.013. However, DTD symptoms worsened over time for left-behind children, with a larger mean score difference in DTD symptoms at 18 years of age, η_p ² = .24-.43. The results suggest a possible link between impaired caregiving systems and DTD symptoms. Early prevention efforts would benefit these children before they develop more serious psychosocial problems in the future.