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Child Maltreatment and Medical Traumatic Stress-A Double-Edged Sword

Rony Kapel Lev-Ari1,2,3, Roy Aloni1, Amit Shalev4

  • 1Department of Behavioral Sciences, Ariel University, Ariel 40700, Israel.

Children (Basel, Switzerland)
|January 25, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Children with a history of child maltreatment experience more distress during medical procedures. Early trauma significantly increases psychological distress, impacting children and their parents, necessitating tailored medical support.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Psychology
  • Trauma Studies
  • Medical Sociology

Background:

  • Medical procedures can be traumatic for children and parents.
  • Children with a history of maltreatment or early trauma face higher risks for emotional and behavioral issues.
  • This heightened risk includes increased distress following medical procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the risk of distress symptoms following medical procedures in children with a history of child maltreatment compared to controls.
  • To identify factors influencing distress in children undergoing medical procedures.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective study of 219 parents and children in a pediatric surgical ward.
  • Participants were divided into study (history of early trauma) and control groups.
  • Psychological distress questionnaires administered pre-procedure and 3-5 months post-discharge.

Main Results:

  • Children with a history of trauma showed significantly more distress before and after procedures, with a notable post-procedure increase.
  • Parents of children with prior trauma also reported elevated pre-procedure distress.
  • Early trauma, family support, socioeconomic status, and parental distress influenced post-procedure child distress.

Conclusions:

  • Children with a history of child maltreatment and trauma have an increased risk of psychological distress after medical procedures.
  • Medical teams must recognize this heightened risk and offer appropriate support.
  • Understanding contributing factors like family support is crucial for effective interventions.
Abstract

Keywords:
adverse childhood experiencesmedical traumatic stresspost-traumatic stresspsychological distress

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