Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) contemplates the impact of acute traumatic events, but the literature indicates that this is not true for chronic exposure to stress. In this sense, the category disorders of extreme stress not otherwise specified (DESNOS) has been proposed to characterize the behavior and cognitive alterations derived from exposure to continuous early life stress. The Structured Interview for Disorders of Extreme Stress - Revised (SIDES-R) was developed to investigate and measure DESNOS.

Potentially traumatizing experiences by a primary caregiver during childhood (TPC) may lead to affect dysregulation, which is a hallmark of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in adulthood. Path analyses with bootstrap confidence intervals were used to explore the relationships of TPC and under- and overregulation of affect to BPD symptoms. Almost 63% of a sample of 472 patients diagnosed with either BPD alone, comorbid BPD + somatoform disorder, or other mental disorder, reported childhood TPC.

Background:Research on resilience in the aftermath of potentially traumatic life events (PTE) is still evolving. For decades, researchers have documented resilience in children exposed to corrosive early environments, such as poverty or chronic maltreatment. Relatively more recently, the study of resilience has migrated to the investigation of isolated PTE in adults.

High rates of child maltreatment demand attention, as exposure to child maltreatment substantially increases the risk of developing PTSD. Some evidence exists that the presence of coping skills may reduce the likelihood that victims of childhood maltreatment will develop PTSD (Agaibi & Wilson, Trauma Violence Abuse 6:195–216, 2005). This study examined whether avoidant and/or approach coping skills moderated the relationship between childhood trauma exposure and trauma symptoms among adolescent females with a history of complex trauma.