The manifestations and correlates of dissociation amongst looked-after children in middle childhood

Hillman, Saul; Cross, Richard; Anderson, Katharine

doi:10.1016/j.ejtd.2021.100232

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Moreover, the finding that dissociative difficulties were significantly correlated with 'Direct Experience of Abuse' on the TALE re-affirms that dissociation is a mechanism which is employed when fundamental survival of the child is under threat (Putnam et al, 1993). Recent research, for example, has shown that dissociative coping strategies are especially prominent in children who have experienced sexual abuse (Martin et al, 2022), and are less likely to be present when a child has not experienced a direct threat to their safety. In this sense, the TALE results reflect the a priori expectation that dissociation is present especially in those children with the most significantly abusive backgrounds, again indicating the TALE's predictive validity (Lynn & Rhue, 1994).…”

Section: Trauma and Psychological Wellbeingmentioning

confidence: 75%

Introducing Routine Assessment of Adverse Childhood Experiences For Looked-After Children: The Use and Properties of the Trauma and Adverse Life Events (TALE) Screening Tool

Kerr-Davis

Hillman

Anderson³

et al. 2023

Journ Child Adol Trauma

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The present study aims to illustrate the process of developing, implementing, and clinically validating a new assessment measure, the Trauma and Adverse Life Events (TALE) screening tool, to assess Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) among looked-after children. The TALE was developed by adapting existing ACEs measures to reflect the experiences of looked-after children. The TALE was completed by the local authority social worker for 218 children placed with Five Rivers Child Care (a UK fostering agency, residential, and educational care provider). Reliability was examined and exploratory factor analysis was conducted. Correlations between TALE scores, background variables, and psychosocial wellbeing using the carer-report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and Child Dissociative Checklist (CDC) were also explored. The TALE was found to have acceptable reliability (α = .71). A three-factor solution was found which explained 46.24% of the variance, with factors labelled ‘Direct Experience of Abuse’, ‘Witnessing Harm’, and ‘Household Dysfunction’. Exposure score was significantly associated with total difficulties score on the SDQ (rs = .24, p < .001) and Impact score was associated with the SDQ’s impact score (rs = .33, p < .001). Exposure and Impact scores were both positively correlated with CDC scores (rs = .16, p = .021 and rs = .22, p = .002). This paper presents evidence of the importance of screening looked-after children for ACEs and demonstrates that the TALE is a valid and reliable tool for this purpose. Adverse and traumatic experiences were highly prevalent in this population and appeared to be closely related with children’s psychosocial wellbeing. Results emphasise the importance of routine assessment of past experiences within trauma-informed psychological care and intervention planning for looked-after children.

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Section: Trauma and Psychological Wellbeingmentioning

confidence: 75%