The mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and exposure to other potentially traumatic events up to old age.

We investigated whether the impact of potentially traumatic events (PTEs) on trauma-related symptoms changes across the transitional adult lifespan (i.e., 16-100 years old) and if this association differs for self-reported COVID-19-related PTEs compared to other PTEs. A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 7,034 participants from 88 countries between late April and October 2020. Participants completed the Global Psychotrauma Screen (GPS), a self-report questionnaire assessing trauma-related symptoms. Data were analyzed using linear and logistic regression analyses and general linear models. We found that older age was associated with lower GPS total symptom scores, B = -0.02, p < .001; this association remained significant but was substantially weaker for self-reported COVID-19-related PTEs compared to other PTEs, B = 0.02, p = .009. The results suggest an association between older age and lower ratings of trauma-related symptoms on the GPS, indicating a blunted symptom presentation. This age-related trend was smaller for self-reported COVID-19-related PTEs compared to other PTEs, reflecting the relatively higher impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults.

The global collaboration on traumatic stress.

Trauma is a global issue. The great majority of the global burden of disease arising from mental health conditions occurs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), among populations in political, economic, and/or cultural transition and those struck by forced migration. These mental health problems frequently arise as a result of traumatic events that adversely affect adults, children, and families, including war, mass violence, natural disasters, and accidents. In response to this, the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) launched the Global Initiative to have a stronger global impact on trauma-related issues. As part of this initiative, the Global Collaboration was established by representatives of eight professional organizations active in the field of traumatic stress. The group decided to focus on childhood abuse and neglect as its first collaboration. They collected guidelines worldwide, providing the basis for a synthesized core guide for prevention and treatment that can be customized for specific cultural contexts. The resulting 'Internet information on Childhood Abuse and Neglect' (iCAN) is a comprehensive guide for adults who have been affected by childhood abuse and neglect, as well as for the survivors' significant others. It is currently provided in eight languages, and is freely available at the homepage of ISTSS and other websites. A second achievement of the Global Collaboration is the validation of the Computerized Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS), a self-report measure designed to measure occurrences of childhood maltreatment, and its translation into multiple languages, including Croatian, Dutch, French, Georgian, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Russian, and Spanish. A study is currently planned to collect normative responses to the questionnaire, and to conduct cross-cultural comparisons. The Global Collaboration's success may be seen as an encouraging step towards a truly global structure in the field of traumatic stress.

El trauma es un problema global. La gran mayoría de la carga mundial de enfermedades derivadas de las enfermedades de salud mental se produce en los países de ingresos medios y bajos (PIMB), entre las poblaciones en transición política, económica y/o cultural y las afectadas por la migración forzada. Estos problemas de salud mental suelen surgir como resultado de acontecimientos traumáticos que afectan de modo adverso a adultos, niños y familias, e incluyen guerras, violencia masiva, desastres naturales y accidentes. En respuesta a esto, la Sociedad Internacional de Estudios de Estrés Traumático (ISTSS) lanzó la Iniciativa Global para tener un impacto global más fuerte en los temas relacionados con el trauma. Como parte de esta iniciativa, la Colaboración Global fue establecida por representantes de ocho organizaciones profesionales activas en el campo del estrés traumático. El grupo decidió centrarse en el abuso y la negligencia infantil como primera colaboración. Recopilaron directrices de todo el mundo, proporcionando la base para un guía central sintetizada de prevención y tratamiento que se puede personalizar para contextos culturales específicos. La 'información de Internet sobre abuso y abandono infantil' (iCAN) resultante es una guía completa para adultos que se han visto afectados por abuso y negligencia en la infancia, así como para los seres queridos de los sobrevivientes. Actualmente, se ofrece en ocho idiomas y está disponible gratuitamente en la página de inicio de la ISTSS y otras páginas web. Un segundo logro de la Colaboración Global es la validación de la Detección Computarizada de Apego Infantil y Trauma Relacional (CARTS), una medida de autoinforme diseñada para medir las ocurrencias de maltrato infantil, y su traducción a múltiples idiomas, que incluyen croata, holandés, francés, georgiano, alemán, italiano, japonés, noruego, ruso y español. Actualmente se está planeando un estudio para recopilar respuestas normativas al cuestionario y realizar comparaciones interculturales. El éxito de la Colaboración Global puede verse como un paso estimulante hacia una verdadera estructura global en el campo del estrés traumático.