1 - (IOP 7) Evaluation of a Developmentally Appropriate Trauma Screening Tool Among Black And/or Latiné Adolescents with ADHD

The rising prevalence of trauma in childhood presents an urgent public health issue, as chronic exposure to trauma can lead to adverse developmental difficulties across various domains of a youth’s life (D’Andrea et al., 2012). This is particularly true for Black and Latiné youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who experience disproportionately higher levels of trauma exposure. Developmental trauma disorder (DTD) was proposed to address the chronicity and developmental toll trauma has among youth, however there is a dearth of research focused on assessing the validity of developmental trauma (DT) screening tools. Using the Developmental Trauma Symptom Screening Checklist (DTS-SC), we examined if the current 5 factor structure is best fitting for Black and/or Latiné youth with ADHD, as compared to the 3 factor (Ford et al., 2021) and 7 factor (Teague, 2013) structures.

Participants are Black and/or Latiné adolescents with ADHD in grades 6th-12th and their caregivers who completed clinical interviews with an extensive trauma battery. The DTS-SC was used to assess developmental trauma symptoms through a combined parent and teen-report. It includes 34 items and five factors. The five factors include emotional regulation difficulties (8 items), social/relationship difficulties (5 items), behavioral (6 items), physiological difficulties (8 items), and cognitive/academic difficulties (7 items).

Using Mplus V.8.8 (Muthen & Muthen, 2025), 1, 3, 5, and 7 factor confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were conducted for the DTS-SC. The 5-factor model had significantly better fit (RMSEA = .04, CFI = .67) than the 1 factor model, but the 7-factor model (attachment, cognition, behavior regulation, affect regulation, self-concept, dissociation, and maturation) was found to have better fitting (RMSEA = .03, CFI = .82). However, two items did not map onto self-concept, “Failure to thrive” and “School failure or absenteeism.” After the reordering of the 2 items to physiological difficulties and cognitive/academic difficulties, it was determined that a distinct 6 factor model, with an additional dissociation subscale added to the 5 factor model, was the best fitting factor structure (RMSEA = .03, CFI = .82) for measuring the DTS-SC with Black and/or Latine youth with ADHD. Factor loadings and associations of factors with functional outcomes will be included.

These findings suggest that the DTS-SC is a useful tool for assessing DT symptoms in Black and/or Latiné adolescents with ADHD. The current 5 factor structure with the addition of the subscale of dissociation is the most effective model and should be used to assess DT. Due to the vast overlap between ADHD and trauma symptoms, it is unsurprising that dissociation would be something of note. Therefore, clinicians should be aware that a 6-factor model assessing difficulties with emotional, social/relational, behavioral, physiological, cognitive/academic, and dissociation regulation is the best way to analyze endorsed DT symptomatology. These findings underscore the importance of evaluating developmental outcomes for Black and/or Latiné adolescents with trauma exposure. This will inform responsive trauma treatment and intervention for Black and/or Latiné youth with ADHD.