Youth Experiencing, and Youth At Risk of, Homelessness: Associations Between Trauma Type, Posttraumatic Negative Cognitions, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Background: Experiencing homelessness as an adolescent or young adult confers risk for trauma experiences and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite being a unique and at-risk group, research on the mechanisms that can impact PTSD symptom severity in this population is scant. One variable that has been found to follow both interpersonal trauma (IPT; e.g., acts of violence or neglect by a perpetrator) and noninterpersonal trauma (non-IPT; e.g., natural disasters, motor vehicle accidents) is posttraumatic cognitions (PTCs), or negative thoughts about the self, the world, and self-blame, following a traumatic experience. Method: This study aimed to describe the experiences of IPT and non-IPT in this sample. Second, we aimed to be the first to identify how IPT and non-IPT impact PTCs for youth experiencing and youth at risk for homelessness. Finally, we examined the impact of PTCs on PTSD following both IPT and non-IPT. Data derived from a sample of youth at risk for homelessness and youth experiencing homelessness (N = 63) in Buffalo, New York, United States were analyzed. Results: PTCs have been found to follow trauma exposure which was corroborated by mediation analyses in our study. Mediation models identified that PTCs about the self (β =.34, SE = 0.12, 95% confidence interval [CI] [.14,.6]), and self-blame (β =.14, SE = 0.07, [.01,.3]), partially mediated the relationship between IPT and PTSD. Significant mediation pathways of PTCs were not found between non-IPT and PTSD.