Complex Trauma and outcomes in adolescence: A pilot study

Journal title MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA
Author/s Antonio Maria Corato, Stefano De Carli, Chiara Fabris, Giulia Ongaro
Publishing Year 2018 Issue 2018/2
Language Italian Pages 18 P. 87-104 File size 221 KB
DOI 10.3280/MAL2018-002006
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

The research refers to a pilot project set up at the SPTM of Vicenza aimed at monitoring the outcome of abused minors. The work is based on the theoretical model of Complex Trauma. The adolescents from the examined sample have suffered continuous maltreatment conditions and traumatic experiences; they did benefit from a protection and support program for at least one year. Participants have been assigned to two groups according to the criteria for the diagnosis of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Each group has been analyzed on variables related to risk factors, to protective factors, to institutional response factors (care system and judicial system). Data analysis shows participants’ personal resources to be the most incisive protective factors; continuous, long duration and family-involvement interventions have been proven the most effective ones.

Keywords: Complex trauma, protective factors, risk factors, taking charge factors.

  1. Allen, J. G., Fonagy, P., & Bateman, A. W. (2010). La mentalizzazione nella pratica clinica. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore.
  2. Andrews, G., Creamer, M., Crino, R., Hunt, C., Lampe, L., & Page, A. (2003) The Treatment of Anxiety Disorders. Clinician Guides and Patient Manuals – Second Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Trad. it. Trattamento dei disturbi d’ansia. Guide per il clinico e Manuali per chi soffre del disturbo. Torino: Centro Scientifico Editore.
  3. Ardino, V. (2006). Il disturbo post-traumatico da stress e le credenze cognitive centrali. In S. Sassaroli, R. Lorenzini, G. M. Ruggiero (Eds.), Psicoterapia cognitiva dell’ansia. Rimuginio, controllo ed evitamento (pp. 281-292). Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore.
  4. Bracken, B. A. (2003). TMA. Test di valutazione multidimensionale dell'autostima. Edizioni Erickson.
  5. Camisasca, E., & Miragoli, S. (2014). Stress post-traumatico in esperienze di violenza cronica. Maltrattamento e abuso nell’infanzia, 2, 7-11, DOI: 10.3280/MAL2014-002001
  6. Carlson, E. B., & Dalenberg, C. J. (2005) Un modello concettuale per gli effetti delle esperienze traumatiche. Cognitivismo Clinico, 2, 2, 142-170.
  7. Carolo, M. (2015). Il Disturbo Post Traumatico da Stress Complesso: fattori protettivi e di rischio. Tesi di specializzazione quadriennale presso SPC Verona.
  8. Chu, J. A. (2010). Posttraumatic stress disorder: Beyond DSM-IV. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 167, 6, 615-617,
  9. Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P., Berliner, L., & Deblinger, E. (2000). Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for children and adolescents: An empirical update. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15, 1202-1223, DOI: 10.1177/088626000015011007
  10. Connor, K. M., & Butterfield, M. I. (2003). Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Focus, 1, 3, 247-262.
  11. D’Andrea W., Ford J., Stolbach B., Spinazzola J., & Van der Kolk, B. A. (2012). Understanding interpersonal trauma in children: Why we need a developmentally appropriate trauma diagnosis. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 82, 187-200,
  12. Davidson, J. R. T. (2002). Surviving disaster: what comes after the trauma? The British Journal of Psychiatry, 181, 366-368,
  13. Derogatis, L. R. (2000). Symptom Checklist-90-Revised. Handbook of psychiatric measures. American Psychiatric Association.
  14. Di Blasio, P. (2016). Forme di violenza e conseguenze psicologiche. Maltrattamento e abuso all’infanzia, 2, 5-14, DOI: 10.3280/MAL2016-S02001
  15. Farina, B., & Simoncini Malucelli, G. (2017). Gli effetti del trauma dello sviluppo e gli approcci terapeutici bottom-up. In C. La Rosa, A. Onofri (Eds.), Dal basso in alto (e ritorno). Nuovi approcci bottom up: psicoterapia cognitiva, corpo, EMDR. Roma: Edizioni Apertamenteweb.
  16. Feeney, J. A., Noller, P., & Hanrahan, M. (1994). Assessing adult attachment. In M. B. Sperling, W. Berman W (Eds.), Attachment in adults: clinical and developmental perspectives (pp. 128-152). New York: Guilford Press.
  17. Ferro V. (2017). Il trauma psichico fra psicoanalisi e Infant Research. Maltrattamento e abuso all’infanzia, 1, 85-103, DOI: 10.3280/MAL2017-001006
  18. Finkelhor, D., & Kendall-Tackett, K. (1997). A developmental perspective on the childhood impact of crime, abuse and violent victimization. In D. Cicchetti, S. Toth (Eds.), Rochester Symposium on Developmental Psychopathology and Developmental Perspectives on Trauma (pp. 1-32). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
  19. Ford J. D., & Courtois, C. A. (2009). Defining and Understanding Complex Trauma and Complex Traumatic Distress Disorders. In C. A. Courtois, J. D. Ford (Eds.), Treating Complex Traumatic Stress Disorders (pp. 13-30). New York: Guilford Press.
  20. Herman, J. L. (1992). Complex PTSD: A syndrome in survivors of prolonged and repeated trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 5, 3, 377-391,
  21. Libro Bianco del National Child Traumatic Stress (2003). Il Trauma complesso nei bambini e negli adolescenti, traduzione a cura del Centro Specialistico Provinciale Il Faro di Bologna (disponibile online: https://www.nctsn.org/resources/complex-trauma-children-and-adolescents).
  22. Liotti, G., & Farina, B. (2011). Sviluppi Traumatici. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore.
  23. Liotti, G., & Prunetti, E. (2010). Metacognitive deficits in trauma-relateddisorders: Contingent on interpersonal motivational contexts? In G. Dimaggio, & P. H. Lysaker (Eds.), Metacognition and Severe Adult Mental Disorders: From Basic Research to Treatment (pp.196-214). London: Routledge.
  24. Luthar, S. S. (1991). Vulnerability and resilience: A study of high-risk adolescents. Child Development, 62, 3, 600-616, DOI: 10.2307/1131134
  25. Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D., & Becker, B. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71, 543-562, DOI: 10.1111/1467-8624.00164
  26. Luxenberg T., Spinazzola J., & van der Kolk, B. A. (2001). Complex Trauma and Disorders of Extreme Stress (DESNOS) diagnosis, Part One: Assessment. Directions in Psychiatry, 21, 25, 373-392.
  27. Lysaker, P. H., Dimaggio, G., Wickett-Curtis, A., Luedtke, B., Vohs, J., Leonhardt, B., James, A., Buck, K. D. & Davis, L. W. (2015). Deficits in metacognitive capacity are related to subjective distress and heightened levels of hyperarousal symptoms in adults with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, 16, 4, 384-398, DOI: 10.1080/15299732.2015.1005331
  28. Masten, A. S., & Coatsworth, J. D. (1998). The development of competence in favorable and unfavorable environments. Lessons from research on successful children. American Psychologist, 53, 205-220,
  29. Mellman, T. A., Bustamante, V., Fins, A. I., Pigeon, W. R., & Nolan, B. (2002). REM sleep and the early development of posttraumatic stress disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 10, 1696-1701,
  30. Pedone, R., Semerari, A., Riccardi, I., Procacci, M., Nicolò, G., & Carcione, A. (2017). Development of a self-report measure of metacognition: The Metacognition Self-Assessment Scale (MSAS). Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 14, 3, 185-194.
  31. Pozzato, M. (2016). Il disturbo post-traumatico da stress complesso: un’indagine preliminare. Tesi di specializzazione quadriennale presso SPC, Verona.
  32. Putnam, F. (2003). Ten-year research update review: Child sexual abuse. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 269-278, DOI: 10.1097/00004583-200303000-00006
  33. Silverman, A. B., Reinherz, H. Z., Giaconia, R. M. (1996). The long term sequelae of child and adolescent abuse: a longitudinal community study. Child Abuse and Neglect, 20, 8, 709-723, DOI: 10.1016/0145-2134(96)00059-2
  34. Van der Kolk, B. A. (2015). Il corpo accusa il colpo. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore.
  35. Van der Kolk, B. A., Roth, S., Pelcovitz, D., Sunday, S., & Spinazzola, J. (2005). Disorders of extreme stress: The empirical foundation of a complex adaptation to trauma. American Journal of Trauma and Stress, 18, 5, 389-399.
  36. Van der Kolk, B. A., (2005). Il Disturbo Traumatico dello Sviluppo: verso una diagnosi relazionale per i bambini cronicamente traumatizzati. In V. Caretti, G. Craparo (Eds.), Trauma e Psicopatologia (pp. 81-93). Roma: Astrolabio.
  37. Waller, M. A. (2001). Resilience in ecosystemic context: Evolution of the concept. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 71, 3, 290-297, DOI: 10.1037/0002-9432.71.3.290
  38. Werner, A. A., & Smith, A. E. (1992). High risk children from birth to adulthood. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

  • Esperienze Sfavorevoli Infantili: un Progetto in Campania per la prevenzione e l'intervento Giulia Savarese, Monica Romei, Luna Carpinelli, Daniela D’Elia, Rosa Angela Villani, Marianna Giordano, Annamaria Scapicchio, Domenico Costantino, in MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL'INFANZIA 3/2021 pp.113
    DOI: 10.3280/MAL2020-003009

Antonio Maria Corato, Stefano De Carli, Chiara Fabris, Giulia Ongaro, Trauma complesso ed esiti di percorso nella presa in carico di minori maltrattati: uno studio pilota in "MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA" 2/2018, pp 87-104, DOI: 10.3280/MAL2018-002006