Developmental trauma disorder: recent perspective on traumatic experience in childhood and adolescence

Developmental trauma disorder as a consequence of a complex interpersonal trauma originating in childhood and adolescence is conceptualized. Concepts such as polyvictmization, polytraumatization and mainly symptom complexity contribute to understanding of traumatic experience in childhood better than Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). They more adequately describe pervasive sequels of traumatic events to personality development in childhood and adolescence. Disturbance in personality functioning relating to affective and cognitive self-regulation, self and other perception, relationships with other, somatic health, etc. is analyzed in details. Development trauma disorder (MD) is defined as an experience of one or more forms of multiple, cumulative, chronic and prolonged developmentally adverse traumatic events in a specific interpersonal relationships and contexts (e.g. sexual abuse, physical maltreatment, domestic violence) at the beginning of life (i.e. in childhood and in adolescence).