@article{ref1,
title="Time-dependent effects of exposure to physical and sexual violence on psychopathology symptoms in late childhood: in search of sensitive periods in development",
journal="Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry",
year="2019",
author="Dunn, Erin C. and Nishimi, Kristen and Neumann, Alexander and Renaud, Alice and Cecil, Charlotte A. M. and Susser, Ezra S. and Tiemeier, Henning",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: Exposure to interpersonal violence is a known risk factor for psychopathology. However, it is unclear whether there are sensitive periods when exposure is most deleterious. We aimed to determine if there were time-periods when physical or sexual violence exposure was associated with greater child psychopathology. <br><br>METHOD: This study (N=4,580) was embedded in Generation R, a population-based prospective birth-cohort. Timing of violence exposure, reported through maternal reports (child age=10 years) was categorized by age at first exposure, defined as: very early (0-3 years), early (4-5 years), middle (6-7 years), and late childhood (8+ years). Using Poisson regression, we assessed the association between timing of first exposure and levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms, using the Child Behavior Checklist at age 10. <br><br>RESULTS: Violence exposure at any age was associated with higher internalizing (physical violence: RR=1.46, p<0.0001; sexual violence: RR=1.30, p<.0001) and externalizing symptoms (physical violence: RR=1.52, p<0.0001; sexual violence: RR=1.31, p=0.0005). However, the effects of violence were time-dependent: compared to children exposed at older ages, children first exposed during very early childhood had greater externalizing symptoms. Sensitivity analyses suggested that these time-based differences emerged slowly across ages 1.5, 3, 6 and 10, showing a latency between onset of violence exposure and emergence of symptoms, and were unlikely explained by co-occurring adversities. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Interpersonal violence is harmful to childhood mental health regardless of when it occurs. However, very early childhood may be a particularly sensitive period when exposure results in worse psychopathology outcomes. <br><br>RESULTS should be replicated in fully prospective designs.<br><br>Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Inc.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0890-8567",
doi="10.1016/j.jaac.2019.02.022",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2019.02.022"
}