Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Jun 1;26(2):33-42.
doi: 10.1177/1534765609358466.

The Role of Family Processes in Childhood Traumatic Stress Reactions for Youths Living in Urban Poverty

Laurel J Kiser  1 , Deborah R Medoff, Maureen M Black
Affiliations

The Role of Family Processes in Childhood Traumatic Stress Reactions for Youths Living in Urban Poverty

Laurel J Kiser et al. Traumatology (Tallahass Fla). .

Abstract

This article reports findings from a cross-sectional study exploring relationships between trauma exposure, childhood traumatic stress, and family functioning. Data were collected from a sample of 100 mostly African American, 6- to 9-year-old children and their caregivers who were living in low-income, urban neighborhoods and analyzed using hierarchical multiple regressions. The children experienced high levels of exposure and traumatic stress symptoms. Trauma exposure was correlated with reexperiencing, avoidance, and arousal and also with externalizing behavior problems. Reexperiencing and avoidance symptoms were related to lower ratings of the value of family routines reported by caregivers. Higher ratings of family structure, including both organization and support, were related to fewer internalizing and externalizing behavior problems.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Achenbach TM, Edelbrock C. Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist. University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry; Burlington: 1991.
    1. Ackerman BP, Izard CE, Kobak R, Brown ED, Smith C. Relation between reading problems and internalizing behavior in school for preadolescent children from economically disadvantaged families. Child Development. 2007;78:581–596. - PubMed
    1. Ackerman BP, Kogos J, Youngstrom E, Schoff K, Izard C. Family instability and the problem behaviors of children from economically disadvantaged families. Developmental Psychology. 1999;35:258–268. - PubMed
    1. Ambrosini PJ. Historical development and present status of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-age Children (K-SADS). Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 2000;39:49–58. - PubMed
    1. Ambrosini PJ, Dixon J. Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-age Children–Present Version, Version IV (K-SADS-P IVR) University College of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia: 1996. Unpublished instrument.