Do Trajectories of Sensation Seeking Vary by Sex and Child Maltreatment Subtypes?

Abstract

Child maltreatment and elevated sensation seeking are associated with a wide range of negative outcomes. Longitudinal data from a study of Puerto Ricans living in two sociocultural contexts were used to determine whether child maltreatment subtypes, sex, or sociocultural context relate to trajectories of sensation seeking. Participants were 2,489 individuals from the Boricua Youth Study (48.5% girls) living in New York and in Puerto Rico (PR; 5–15 years old at Wave 1). Subtypes of child maltreatment were measured using child report on the Parent–Child Conflict Tactics Scale and the Sexual Victimization Scale at Wave 1. The association between child maltreatment subtypes, sex, sociocultural context, and previously established sensation-seeking trajectories across three waves of data collection was probed using multinomial logistic regression. Girls, but not boys, who experienced neglect (adjusted odds ratio; AOR; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 5.33 [1.35, 21.03]), or physical abuse (AOR [95% CI] = 3.66 [1.07, 12.54]), were more likely to have an elevated sensation-seeking trajectory than a normative trajectory. For boys, none of the maltreatment subtypes were linked to the elevated sensation-seeking class. Girls exposed to verbal abuse (AOR [95% CI] = 0.33 [0.15, 0.75]) and boys exposed to physical abuse (AOR [95% CI] = 0.39 [0.16, 0.97]) were less likely to belong to the low sensation-seeking class. No significant interactions between sociocultural context (i.e., PR vs. New York) and maltreatment subtype on the development of sensation seeking were found. This research suggests sensation-seeking levels vary by experiences of childhood maltreatment, and that sex moderates the relationship between child maltreatment experiences and sensation seeking, with an association between some maltreatment subtypes and elevated sensation-seeking trajectories found in girls, but not boys. These results underline the importance of considering sex when examining how child maltreatment relates to outcomes.

PTSD as a Predictor of Differential Development of Dual Systems Model Constructs: A Group-Based Trajectory Modeling Approach

“…This may indicate that mid to late adolescence are not periods of the life-course when the cognition of JIY may be most apt to change. Considering that event occurrences in the life-course, like traumatic stress exposure, may alter these cognitive constructs (Brady & Donenberg, 2006; Imas et al, 2018; Sharkey et al, 2012; Sussman et al, 2020), yet very little variance in patterns of development was observed here in the trajectory models themselves, it may be demonstrative of a similar lack of malleability in dual systems constructs when exposed to psychosocial interventions during mid to late adolescence for this population. This may provide some indication that such programming may be more effective when targeting younger adolescents.…”

“…Prevalence of PTSD among JIY has been observed at rates varying between 5%-18% (Brosky & Lally, 2004;Kerig et al, 2012;McNair et al, 2019). Exposure to traumatic stress has been identified as a risk factor predicting both high levels of sensation-seeking and also diminished impulse control (Brady & Donenberg, 2006;Imas et al, 2018;Sharkey et al, 2012;Sussman et al, 2020). Characteristics of PTSD underpin these relationships and the disorder may provide a useful clinical marker of potential dysfunction in development of dual systems model constructs.…”

“…Differential development of impulse control and sensation-seeking during this period of the life-course results in this elevated risk. Traumatic stress, relevant as antecedent to PTSD, has been identified as a risk factor for predicting variation in both of these constructs (Brady & Donenberg, 2006; Imas et al, 2018; Sharkey et al, 2012; Sussman et al, 2020). Despite this, there is a dearth of research which has examined the relevance of PTSD within a dual systems model context for understanding how the disorder may influence differential development of impulse control and sensation-seeking.…”