Cumulative childhood trauma and complex psychiatric symptoms in pregnant women and expecting men

Abstract

Background: Women and men having been exposed to childhood trauma would be at high risk of various mental health symptoms while awaiting a child. This study aimed to evaluate the association between cumulative childhood trauma and the accumulation of symptoms belonging to different psychiatric problems in pregnant women and expecting men.

Methods: We first examined prevalence rates of childhood trauma across our samples of 2853 pregnant women and 561 expecting men from the community. Second, we evaluated the association between cumulative childhood trauma and symptom complexity (i.e., the simultaneous presentation of symptoms belonging to multiple psychiatric problems) using subsamples of 1779 pregnant women and 118 expecting men. Participants completed self-reported measures of trauma (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire) and psychiatric symptoms (PTSD Checklist for DSM-5; Kessler Psychological Distress Scale; State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2; Self and Interpersonal Functioning Scale).

Results: Trauma was more frequent in pregnant women than in expecting men and in participants reporting sociodemographic risk factors than in those not reporting any. A dose-response relationship was observed between the number of different traumas reported by pregnant women and expecting men and the complexity of their psychiatric symptoms, even when controlling for the variance explained by other risk factors. Women having been exposed to cumulative childhood trauma were 4.95 times more at risk of presenting comorbid psychiatric problems during pregnancy than non-exposed women.

Conclusions: Childhood trauma is frequent in the general population of pregnant women and expecting men and is associated with symptom complexity during the antenatal period. These findings call for delivering and evaluating innovative trauma-informed antenatal programs to support mental health and adaptation to parenthood in adults having been exposed to childhood trauma.

Keywords: antenatal; child abuse; complex trauma; fathers; mental health; mothers; pregnancy; prenatal; symptom complexity.

Fig. 1

Dose-response association between number of traumas in childhood and complexity of psychiatric symptoms in pregnant women and expecting men. The score of symptom complexity was computed by adding the standardized scores of the four measures of psychiatric symptoms (PTSD, psychological distress, state anger and personality impairment). Number of traumas during childhood was assessed by adding scales reaching the cut-offs of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, physical and emotional neglect)