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Marlene Bloom

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Papers by Marlene Bloom

Research paper thumbnail of Sentence Completion Task

Research paper thumbnail of Caregiver–Teacher Agreement on Emotional and Behavioral Problems in Traumatized Youth in Residential Treatment

Residential Treatment For Children & Youth, 2013

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of Somatic Symptoms in Traumatized Children and Adolescents

Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 2012

Childhood exposure to trauma has been associated with increased rates of somatic symptoms (SS), w... more Childhood exposure to trauma has been associated with increased rates of somatic symptoms (SS), which may contribute to diminished daily functioning. One hundred and sixty-one children residing at a residential treatment home who had experienced neglect and/or abuse were administered the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC), the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children, and the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Primary caregivers completed the Child Behavior Checklist. Two composite measures of SS were formed to represent both child-and caregiver-rated SS. Over 95% of children endorsed at least one SS on the child-rated measure. Children who had experienced sexual abuse had higher rates of SS relative to children who had not. Childrated SS were highly correlated with the CDI total score and the TSCC subscales of anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress, dissociation, and anger. The TSCC anxiety subscale mediated the relationship between sexual abuse and child-rated SS.

Research paper thumbnail of Predictors of Differential Responding on a Sentence Completion Task in Traumatized Children

Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2013

Information-processing theories posit that persons who have experienced trauma may have disturbed... more Information-processing theories posit that persons who have experienced trauma may have disturbed emotional processing and therefore exhibit an excess of negative responses to otherwise neutral cues. The role of this mechanism in traumatized children has yet to be fully investigated. This study examined the relationship of varied clinical characteristics and theoretically relevant moderating variables to increased trauma related responding on a non-idiographic sentence completion task. One hundred and eighty-nine children (ages 6-17) residing at a residential home between 1996 and 2011 who had experienced physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse were administered a sentence completion task and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC) shortly after their admission. Three independent raters determined whether sentence completion responses were trauma related (TRR), non-trauma related, or ambiguous. Trauma related responses were then reviewed for either avoidant/denial style responding or loss related responding. The TSCC posttraumatic stress subscale (PTS) was the only subscale that was uniquely related to TRR. A significant interaction between abuse type and PTS was found with sexual abuse moderating the effect of PTS on TRR. Additionally, age at assessment was positively correlated with both TRR and loss related responding. Time since removal from home was negatively correlated with TRR. Gender differences were found for TRR and loss related responding. These findings highlight the empirical relevance of the sentence completion task in clinical research. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for research, assessment, and intervention.

Research paper thumbnail of Sentence Completion Task

Research paper thumbnail of Caregiver–Teacher Agreement on Emotional and Behavioral Problems in Traumatized Youth in Residential Treatment

Residential Treatment For Children & Youth, 2013

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of Somatic Symptoms in Traumatized Children and Adolescents

Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 2012

Childhood exposure to trauma has been associated with increased rates of somatic symptoms (SS), w... more Childhood exposure to trauma has been associated with increased rates of somatic symptoms (SS), which may contribute to diminished daily functioning. One hundred and sixty-one children residing at a residential treatment home who had experienced neglect and/or abuse were administered the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC), the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children, and the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Primary caregivers completed the Child Behavior Checklist. Two composite measures of SS were formed to represent both child-and caregiver-rated SS. Over 95% of children endorsed at least one SS on the child-rated measure. Children who had experienced sexual abuse had higher rates of SS relative to children who had not. Childrated SS were highly correlated with the CDI total score and the TSCC subscales of anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress, dissociation, and anger. The TSCC anxiety subscale mediated the relationship between sexual abuse and child-rated SS.

Research paper thumbnail of Predictors of Differential Responding on a Sentence Completion Task in Traumatized Children

Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2013

Information-processing theories posit that persons who have experienced trauma may have disturbed... more Information-processing theories posit that persons who have experienced trauma may have disturbed emotional processing and therefore exhibit an excess of negative responses to otherwise neutral cues. The role of this mechanism in traumatized children has yet to be fully investigated. This study examined the relationship of varied clinical characteristics and theoretically relevant moderating variables to increased trauma related responding on a non-idiographic sentence completion task. One hundred and eighty-nine children (ages 6-17) residing at a residential home between 1996 and 2011 who had experienced physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse were administered a sentence completion task and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC) shortly after their admission. Three independent raters determined whether sentence completion responses were trauma related (TRR), non-trauma related, or ambiguous. Trauma related responses were then reviewed for either avoidant/denial style responding or loss related responding. The TSCC posttraumatic stress subscale (PTS) was the only subscale that was uniquely related to TRR. A significant interaction between abuse type and PTS was found with sexual abuse moderating the effect of PTS on TRR. Additionally, age at assessment was positively correlated with both TRR and loss related responding. Time since removal from home was negatively correlated with TRR. Gender differences were found for TRR and loss related responding. These findings highlight the empirical relevance of the sentence completion task in clinical research. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for research, assessment, and intervention.

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