Divergent effects of childhood trauma on anxiety trajectories in adolescents: Comparing pre-defined subtypes and co-occurring clusters.

BACKGROUND

Childhood trauma is a well-established risk factor for adolescent anxiety, with various types of trauma contributing to its development. However, these trauma types frequently co-occur and manifest in heterogeneous patterns across individuals. This study investigates the differential impacts of both individual and co-occurring childhood trauma subtypes on adolescent anxiety.

METHODS

Using a large longitudinal design, data from 1761 adolescents were analyzed across two time points spaced six months apart. We first employed linear mixed-effects models to examine the temporal effects of five pre-defined childhood trauma types (emotional, physical, and sexual abuse; emotional and physical neglect) on anxiety. Subsequently, hierarchical cluster analysis was used to identify naturally occurring trauma clusters based on the co-occurrence of these types. Finally, linear mixed-effects models were again applied to assess the differential effects of these data-driven clusters on anxiety over time.

RESULTS

Emotional abuse demonstrated the strongest association with anxiety at both time points, although its effect significantly decreased over the six months. Cluster analysis identified seven distinct trauma clusters. These empirically derived clusters provided a more nuanced and precise prediction of differential anxiety trajectories compared to the pre-defined, single-type model.

CONCLUSION

The findings underscore the value of a person-centered, data-driven approach for delineating childhood trauma subtypes. This methodology offers refined insights for developing targeted prevention and intervention strategies tailored to the specific trauma clusters of adolescents.