Childhood Trauma Factors Associated with Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Female Former Foster Youth

The diagnostic construct of Complex PTSD has the potential to better capture the constellation of symptoms commonly found in adults with chronic interpersonal trauma. This exploratory study examined the childhood trauma factors that are associated with severity of symptoms of Complex PTSD in female former foster youth, a population that has not been included in previous studies of Complex PTSD. The first aim was to evaluate the childhood factors associated with Complex PTSD. The second aim of the study was to evaluate whether a significant number of women would go undiagnosed if PTSD were the sole choice of diagnosis, since PTSD is currently the primary diagnosis used when treating individuals with trauma. The expectation was that results could assist in better understanding the relevance and utility of Complex PTSD in the assessment and treatment of female former foster youth.;Data from twenty women over the age of 18, with a history of foster care placement in Alameda County, California, were taken from the database of the larger ongoing research project Foster Youth Study at CSPP- the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University. Results from zero-order one-tailed correlations revealed no significant associations between the diagnosis of PTSD and severity of Complex PTSD symptoms, or between severity of Complex PTSD symptoms and the following childhood trauma factors: age of onset of trauma, relationship to the perpetrator, number of childhood traumatic events, number of childhood trauma types, and number of foster care placements. PTSD symptom severity was positively and significantly associated with Complex PTSD symptom severity.;The nature of Complex PTSD and possible adaptations to interpersonal abuse are discussed in terms of how they may have contributed to lower than expected rates of self-reported trauma exposure and Complex Trauma symptoms in the current sample. Given the small sample size, findings of this exploratory study should be interpreted with caution, due to limited statistical power. Limitations of the study and recommendations for future research are included. Clinical implications for work with women with interpersonal trauma and with former foster youth are also discussed.