2024-05-14

079_ Impact of Childhood Trauma on Relationship Stability: Unraveling Personal and Professional Domains

Research Question and Aims

Childhood trauma are identifiable across all socioeconomic strata, irrespective of socioeconomic status, educational level, or ethnicity (Merrick, Melissa T et al. 2018). Affected individuals exhibit increased health risk behaviors (Dube, Shanta R et al. 2003) and are at heightened likelihood of developing physical or mental health disorders (Chang, Xuening et al. 2019). Childhood trauma is associated with alteration in the structure, connectivity and function of the cognitive brain (Teicher, M., Samson, J., Anderson, C. et al. 2016) and can be linked with anger in adulthood (de Bles, N J et al. 2023). We hypothesize that these effects of childhood trauma influence personal and professional relationship fluctuation in patients within the affective to psychotic spectrum and healthy controls.
This project will investigate the fluctuation of personal and professional relationships in individuals which experienced childhood trauma. To measure the fluctuation of personal and professional relationships, we will calculate a ‘fluctuation score’ that depicts the transition between personal and professional relationship status (in partnership – single; employed – unemployed) between study visits based on the analyses of the multistate model (see Proposal: Stability of employment and relationship status over time in patients from the affective-to-psychotic spectrum). We will examine the influence of childhood trauma on personal and professional relationship fluctuation and if trauma subgroups contribute differently to this influence. Furthermore, we explore if certain protective factors (Polygenic Risk Score PRS) for Resilience and the feeling being loved during childhood ( = Question 1 from Childhood Trauma Screener) against personal and professional relationship fluctuation.

Analytic Plan

Hypothesis
1a. Experienced Childhood Trauma (dichotomous assessment) increases personal relationship fluctuation.
1b. Experienced Childhood Trauma (dichotomous assessment) increases professional relationship fluctuation.
2a. Protective factors (PRS for Resilience and the feeling loved during childhood) protect against personal fluctuation.
2b. Protective factors (PRS for Resilience and the feeling loved during childhood) protect against professional fluctuation.
3a. Among individuals affected by childhood trauma, trauma subtypes influence personal relationship fluctuation differently.
3b. Among individuals affected by childhood trauma, trauma subtypes influence professional relationship fluctuation differently.

Participants
Longitudinal Data from all PsyCourse participants younger than 65 years old and who have completed the CTS and a minimum of 2 study visits will be used.

Analytic methods
The analyses will be performed cross-diagnostically including healthy controls.
The ‘fluctuation score’ is constructed from the linear predictors of multistate models (with two transient states: currently paid employed/currently in a relationship). Each model has two linear predictors (one for losing a job/partner, one for finding a job/partner), which have to be combined using appropriate weights.
Dependent variables: ‘fluctuation score of personal relationship’, ‘fluctuation score of professional relationship’ Independent variables: CTS (cut-off score total and trauma subtypes), PRS Resilience and Question 1 CTS Covariates: age, sex, educational level, diagnostic group, control status, clinical global impression scale from visit 1, ancestry principal components
H1a/b and H2a/b: regression analysis with CTS total cut-off score, PRS resilience and Question 1 CTS as independent variables; ablation study for the protective factors (PRS resilience and Question 1 CTS)
H3a/b: regression analyses with CTS subtypes cut-off scores as independent variables

Resources needed

v1_id
v1_stat
v1_center
v1_interv_date
v1_sex
v1_age
v1_yob
v1_marital_stat
v1_partner
v1_curr_paid_empl
v1_disabl_pens
v1_spec_emp
v1_dur_illness
v1_scid_dsm_dx
v1_scid_dsm_dx_cat
v1_scid_dsm_dx_cat
v1_cgi_s
v2_age
v2_interv_date
v2_cng_mar_stat
v2_marital_stat
v2_partner
v2_chg_empl_stat
v2_curr_paid_empl
v2_disabl_pens
v2_spec_emp
v3_age
v3_interv_date
v3_cng_mar_stat
v3_marital_stat
v3_partner
v3_chg_empl_stat
v3_curr_paid_empl
v3_disabl_pens
v3_spec_emp
v3_cts_1
v3_cts_2
v3_cts_3
v3_cts_4
v3_cts_5
v3_cts_els_dic
v3_cts_1_dic
v3_cts_2_dic
v3_cts_3_dic
v3_cts_4_dic
v3_cts_5_dic
v4_age
v4_interv_date
v4_cng_mar_stat
v4_marital_stat
v4_partner
v4_chg_empl_stat
v4_curr_paid_empl
v4_disabl_pens
v4_spec_emp
gsa_id