Last year, we provided a 2023 Annual Report. It was packed with information about the processes, procedures, and outcomes of our project. Since releasing that document, we have conducted some additional analyses that help clarify some of our results.
As a quick reminder: We observed that participating in CFTSI led children to report significant decreases in their trauma symptoms and increases in their feelings of resiliency and self-efficacy. We are proud of these fantastic results.
We did, however, have one particularly curious finding. Caregivers’ ratings of their children’s trauma symptoms did not show the same level of decrease in response to participating in CFTSI. As depicted in this graph, we can see that this is largely due to the fact that caregivers identifying as African American indicated relatively little change in their children’s symptoms over time.
To follow up on this finding, we conducted a similar analysis, but instead of using caregiver’s race, we used the family’s socioeconomic status. As depicted in this graph, we can see that although the magnitudes are different, the overall pattern is largely the same, with those in the lowest SES reporting no significant improvement in their children’s trauma symptoms.
Finally, we then conducted an analysis to examine caregiver’s own trauma symptoms by their SES status. Not surprisingly, as depicted in this graph, we found that the lower a caregiver’s SES, the more traumatic events they’ve experienced in their life.
So, the original finding that African American caregivers observe relatively little change in their children’s trauma symptoms may actually be due to the fact that these individuals are typically in the lower SES brackets and also have the highest levels of trauma themselves. This may color their perceptions of what it is like to live with trauma. What may actually be happening is that these caregivers are initially not observing their children’s trauma symptoms and after therapy have a more realistic view of trauma’s impact. It’s a fascinating finding that we’ll definitely be tracking over time and hopefully using to inform our therapeutic processes.