ArticleBMC psychiatry2016
Type and timing of adverse childhood experiences differentially affect severity of PTSD, dissociative and depressive symptoms in adult inpatients.
Article in BMC psychiatry, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 141 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
141 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 316 citations in OpenAlex.
- Psychological mediators of the associations between adverse and benevolent childhood experiences and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of traumatic stress · 2026Pooled it
- Prospective Longitudinal Associations Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adult Mental Health Outcomes: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Trauma, violence & abuse · 2026Pooled it
- Deconstructing pathways to resilience: A systematic review of associations between psychosocial mechanisms and transdiagnostic adult mental health outcomes in the context of adverse childhood experiences.Clinical psychology & psychotherapy · 2022Pooled it
- Endocannabinoid and N-acylethanolamine concentrations in hair of female patients with posttraumatic stress disorder - associations with clinical symptoms and outcomes following multimodal trauma-focused inpatient treatment.Translational psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Preventing Childhood Sexual Abuse Related Mental Health Deterioration Using a Narrative Family Intervention in Burundi.Research on child and adolescent psychopathology · 2025Trial
- The Association of Recurrent and Multiple Types of Abuse with Adverse Mental Health, Substance Use, and Sexual Health Outcomes among Out-of-School Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Cape Town, South Africa.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- Promoting resilience: A preschool intervention enhances the adolescent adjustment of children exposed to early adversity.School psychology (Washington, D.C.) · 2020Trial
- Associations of childhood maltreatment types and timing with oxidative stress in formerly out-of-home placed young adults.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2026Article
- The relationship between age of first exposure and posttraumatic symptoms: results from the global psychotrauma screen.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2026Article
- Critical windows: timing of child maltreatment exposure and adult mental health.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2026Article
- Opposing sensitive period effects of early and late childhood maltreatment on corticolimbic responses in fear conditioning.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Exploring the Links between Individual Types of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Self-Reported Psychiatric and Neurocognitive Conditions.Journal of child & adolescent trauma · 2026Article
- Longitudinal patterns of threat- and deprivation-based childhood adversity and their impact on adolescent drinking, smoking, and depression.Child abuse & neglect · 2026Article
- Timing of childhood adversity and cognitive profiles in adults with autism spectrum disorder.Annals of general psychiatry · 2026Article
- Disorganized attachment and identity dissociation: FKBP5 CATT as a molecular moderator.Psychiatry research · 2026Article
- Impact of adverse life experiences on pain, depression, anxiety, and comorbidities: a youth longitudinal sample.Pain reports · 2026Article
- Mediating roles of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptom severity and self-control on the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and adult aggression.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2026Article
- Associations between perpetrator characteristics of child maltreatment, age of onset, and physical and mental health.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2026Article
- Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Anger Among Police Officers Following a Fatal Knife Attack on a Team Member.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- A theory-driven rationale for EMDR therapy among patients with a personality disorder.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
81 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundA dose-dependent effect of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) on the course and severity of psychiatric disorders has been frequently reported. Recent evidence indicates additional impact of type and timing of distinct ACE on symptom severity experienced in adulthood, in support of stress-sensitive periods in (brain) development. The present study seeks to clarify the impact of ACE on symptoms that are often comorbid across various diagnostic groups: symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), shutdown dissociation and depression. A key aim was to determine and compare the importance of dose-dependent versus type and timing specific prediction of ACE on symptom levels.
methodsExposure to ten types of maltreatment up to age 18 were retrospectively assessed in N = 129 psychiatric inpatients using the Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology of Exposure (MACE). Symptoms of PTSD, shutdown dissociation, and depression were related to type and timing of ACE. The predictive power of peak types and timings was compared to that of global MACE measures of duration, multiplicity and overall severity.
resultsA dose-dependent effect (MACE duration, multiplicity and overall severity) on severity of all symptoms confirmed earlier findings. Conditioned random forest regression verified that PTSD symptoms were best predicted by overall ACE severity, whereas type and timing specific effects showed stronger prediction for symptoms of dissociation and depression. In particular, physical neglect at age 5 and emotional neglect at ages 4-5 were related to increased symptoms of dissociation, whereas the emotional neglect at age 8-9 enhanced symptoms of depression.
conclusionIn support of the sensitive period of exposure model, present results indicate augmented vulnerability by type x timing of ACE, in particular emphasizing pre-school (age 4-5) and pre-adolescent (8-9) periods as sensitive for the impact of physical and emotional neglect. PTSD, the most severe stress-related disorder, varies with the amount of adverse experiences irrespective of age of experience. Considering type and timing of ACE improves understanding of vulnerability, and should inform diagnostics of psychopathology like PTSD, dissociation and depression in adult psychiatric patients.
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