The Role of Developmental Trauma in Suicidal and Non-suicidal Self-injurious Behavior Among Ethnic Minority Adolescents

Part 1: Literature Review. Recently, a new diagnostic construct, Developmental Trauma Disorder (DTD) was proposed to describe the effects of chronic exposure to childhood maltreatment and victimization. Childhood maltreatment has consistently been citied as a predominant risk factor for deliberate self-harm (e.g., suicidal and non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors) in adolescents. This paper aims to present the current literature on the associations between childhood maltreatment and deliberate self-harm with a focus on urban living, ethnic minority adolescents. This paper will (a) review the theoretical framework and historical context of the development of DTD (b) overview the extant and ongoing research on the impact of interpersonal trauma on affect and impulse regulation (c) outline the prevalence rates of deliberate self-harm in adolescents with a focus on ethnic minority adolescents and (d) summarize the extant research on interpersonal trauma as a risk factor for deliberate self-harm in adolescents.;Part II: Empirical Article. The sequelae of developmental trauma experienced early in life have been described as epidemic and understudied. Longitudinal data highlights the association between early childhood maltreatment and increased risk of suicidal and NSSI behaviors in adolescents. The current study was designed to advance the research literature by investigating the role of the proposed diagnostic criteria for Developmental Trauma Disorder (DTD) in suicidal and non-suicidal self-injurious behavior in ethnic minority urban adolescents. Utilizing archival data collected from a highly trauma-exposed population of urban youth, two main aims will be addressed in this study: (1) to test the utility and clinical validity of the proposed diagnostic criteria of DTD in this population and (2) examine the relations between adolescents' trauma symptomotology and their engagement in suicidal and NSSI behaviors.