Synthesis Matrix/Crtical Appraisal

Synthesis Matrix/Critical Appraisal

Author/Date	Aim of Study	Type of literature + type of method	Result /Conclusion	Strengths + limitations	Thematic codings	Setting/ Context
Kaplan, 2006	Extensive research concerning children in genocide starting with those in the Holocaust and in the genocide in Rwanda 1994 to find indicators for psychological phenomena concerning the child survivors’ affect regulating that appeared in life histories presented in interviews	interviews; secondary source	Past traumatic experiences are recovered as affects invading the present. Accordingly, affects seem to tell the story of the past traumatic experiences through their version of collecting the memories	The strength of this article is that it presents concept of space creating and other ways individuals mentally deal with their childhood trauma at the time it occurs. Different life experiences were linked back to the trauma, influenced decisions in adulthood. Since the individuals interviewed were older their memories may not be as accurate.	Psychological development Memories Genocide Space creating Inner psychic world and outer world	Interviews Survivors Sweden Learning through observation and finding similarities
Majer, Nater, Lin, Capuron, & Reeves, 2010	To test if stress experienced early in life has consequences on brain development, such as cognitive function because it can lead to psychological disorders.	research study, pilot study	Our results suggest that physical neglect and emotional abuse might be associated with memory deficits in adulthood, which in turn might pose a risk factor for the development of psychopathology.	A strength and limitation is that the individuals in the study were not necessarily diagnosed with a psychological disorder, but presented symptoms. A limitation is that it is a pilot study, so more research has to be done to support that these types of trauma negatively impacts memory in adulthood. Another limitation is that the study was only done with 47 participants and that isn't necessarily a large enough group to set the findings in stone. One strength is that cognitive function was evaluated and the study did find an indication that childhood trauma doesn't just pose a risk for psychological disorders but also decreased cognitive function.	Cognitive function Psychological disorders Impacts on adulthood Memory	Questionnaires Small group Wichita, KS
Ballard, Eck, Musci, Hart, Storr, et.al, 2015	To determine a correlation between childhood trauma in an urban community sample and to predict the development of negative behavioral outcomes in adolescence and young adulthood	participatory action research, epidemiologically based	Classes of childhood traumatic experiences predict specific psychiatric and behavioral outcomes in adolescence and young adulthood. The long-term effects of childhood traumas are primarily concentrated in victims of sexual and non-sexual violence	One strength is that the participants were evaluated in adolescence and young adulthood so they were able to see how the trauma influenced a large part of their development. The study was able to show that trauma in childhood impacts individuals for the rest of their lives, it doesn't just influence the time surrounding the actual event. Another strength is some psychological disorders were more associated with a specific type of trauma and even gender. The gender could be a limitation because it doesn't really tell me the overall rate of a disorder, just the rate for each gender.	Negative behavior outcomes Psychiatric conditions Effects of childhood trauma in adulthood	Comprehensive psychiatric assessments as young adults Questionnaires Urban community Low SES Large number of participants
Tanaka, Wekerle, Schmuck, & Paglia-Boak, 2011	This study examined the relationship between childhood maltreatment and self-compassion because it could help understand what stage(s) of development may have been impacted and how this impacts adulthood.	longitudinal study research	Higher childhood trauma was associated with lower self-compassion, especially emotional abuse. Youths with low self-compassion were more likely to have psychological distress, problem drug use, and serious suicide attempt. A number of maltreatment-related areas of impairment were significantly associated with lower self-compassion.	One strength is that a new way of measuring the impacts of childhood trauma was considered which, is self-compassion. Knowing how the victims view themselves in adulthood as a result of their experience(s) allows for better understanding of the impact of childhood emotional abuse on adolescent functioning. The article addressed the limitation being lack of research on those receiving child protective services.	Childhood maltreatment Adolescents Child welfare Mental health Substance use problems Self-compassion	Canada Urban setting Randomized questioning over period of time Questionnaires
Browne & Winkelman, 2007		research; interview-based, qualitative
Watson, Gallagher, Dougall, Porter, et.al, 2013	This study compared the rates of childhood trauma in adults with bipolar disorder to a healthy control group. The study also wanted to investigate the impact of childhood trauma on the clinical course of bipolar disorder.		Significantly higher rates of childhood trauma were observed in patients with bipolar I and bipolar II disorder compared to the control groups. Childhood emotional neglect was found to be significantly associated with bipolar disorder.	Limitations include the small sample size and how it potentially increases the risk of type II errors. This study needs to be replicated with further investigation into the neurobiological consequences of childhood trauma, particularly emotional neglect.	Childhood trauma Emotional neglect Bipolar disorder Depression	North-east England New Zealand Small sample size Questionnaires
Etain, Aas, Andreassen, Lorentzen, et.al, 2013	This study aimed to look at the environmental influences on the development of bipolar disorder besides looking at genetics.		Earlier onset of bipolar illness, suicide attempts and depression were significantly associated with specific types of childhood trauma. More women had experienced childhood trauma and more associations with psychological disorders.	One strength of this article is that they were able to find associations between subtype of childhood trauma and psychological disorders besides bipolar disorder. Another strength is that the sample size was so big because it meant their findings would be more concrete and consistent with the actual representation of those who did not participate. The study also found that having experienced childhood trauma heightened the symptoms for those with bipolar disorder, which demonstrates the level of cognitive influence it has.	Childhood trauma Bipolar disorder Environmental influences Clinical characteristics	France Norway Questionnaire DSM-IV Large sample size
Wearick-Silva, Tractenberg, Levandowski, Viola, et.al, 2014	The study wanted to look into the recurrent exposure of childhood sexual abuse, seeing if children who had been sexually abused were more likely to have mothers who had been sexually abused as a child.		The study found that women who had been sexually abused as children were more likely to have children who would be sexually abused as well.	One strength about this article is that it explored the idea of childhood trauma victimization continuing through generations rather than looking at a single generation. One limitation is that the sample size is fairly small and would need to be done again in a larger setting. Another limitation for my use is that it doesn’t look at the cognitive aspect of childhood trauma, it only looks at the environment and factors influencing the chances of offspring having the same or similar experience.	Child sexual abuse Sexual abuse Family violence Intergenerational relations Reoccurrence	Brazil Small sample size Questionnaire Young families
Aas, Andreassen, Aminoff, Faerden, et.al, 2016	The aim of this study was to investigate whether childhood trauma was associated with more severe clinical features in patients with first-episode psychosis at initial assessment and after 1 year	Longitudinal study	Patients with first-episode psychosis who experienced childhood trauma have a subgroup characterized by more severe clinical features over the first year of treatment, and slower improvement rates.	One strength of this article is that if found individuals who had not only experienced an episode, had also experienced childhood trauma. Another strength is that there was an association found between improvement rates and childhood trauma. Another strength is that this article can be tied to another article I am using which allows me to use both articles to demonstrate the cognitive and psychological impacts on the chances and severity of developed psychological disorders, like bipolar disorder.	Psychotic episode Improvement rates Childhood trauma Psychological disorders	Large sample size Questionnaires 4 major hospitals in Oslo
Catalan,Angosot, Diaz, Valverde, et.al, 2017	This study aimed to find the relationship between different types of parental care, trauma in childhood and psychotic symptoms in adulthood.			One limitation is that it is still unclear if the association is more related to psychotic disorders or to a cluster of symptoms.	Childhood trauma Psychosis Parenting rearing style Severe mental disorder	Spain Spanish speaking participants Medium sample size