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Children
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Child Trauma and Psychology—2nd Edition
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Child Trauma and Psychology—2nd Edition

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 1048

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Laura Lacomba-Trejo

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Guest Editor
Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy, Universitat de València, 46010 Valencia, Spain
Interests: health psychology; child and adolescent psychology; chronic disease
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Francisco González Sala

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Guest Editor
Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy, Universitat de València, 46010 Valencia, Spain
Interests: child and adolescent psychology; family; children at risk
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Paula Samper-Garcia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Basic Psychology Deparment, Universitat de València, València, 46010 Valencia, Spain
Interests: psychology; adolescent
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The quality of the interactions established in the first years of human life is crucial and plays a significant role in the way we bond effectively and adapt personally and socially during adolescence and adulthood. Affective attachments mark the way in which people understand the world and regulate their emotions in the face of adversity. For this reason, the experiences to which a person is exposed in childhood and adolescence in the family, school, or social environment have a significant impact on their later psychosocial adjustment.

Thus, traumatic experiences in childhood and adolescence may be related to a greater occurrence of internalizing and externalizing problems. It is common to find that children and adolescents who have been exposed to adverse situations exhibit mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, reactive attachment disorder, behavioral or hyperactive problems, and even neurodevelopmental problems.

The aim of this Special Issue on childhood is to highlight recent developments and innovative insights into the emotional, behavioral, and neurological impact of trauma in childhood and adolescence. We seek to expand knowledge about assessment instruments, explanatory variables, and treatment and prevention options in this area.

It is particularly oriented to adversity in childhood and adolescence, but also to children and adolescents exposed to protective measures. On behalf of the Editorial Office, we invite you to submit research papers and review articles for peer review and possible publication.

Dr. Laura Lacomba-Trejo
Dr. Francisco González Sala
Dr. Paula Samper-Garcia
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • childhood trauma
  • child psychology
  • child and youth psychopathology
  • reactive attachment disorder
  • adverse childhood experiences
  • children at risk

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 274 KB  
Article
Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSOC): Establishing Normative Scores in Mothers of Infants Under 9 Months
by Gemma Pons-Salvador, Rosa M. Trenado and Lucía Ballabriga-Olivito
Children 2026, 13(4), 523; https://doi.org/10.3390/children13040523 - 9 Apr 2026
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: The Parenting Sense of Competence (PSOC) scale is one of the most widely used instruments to assess perceived parental competence, understood as the degree to which parents feel capable of adequately fulfilling their parental role. Despite its widespread use, studies seeking to [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: The Parenting Sense of Competence (PSOC) scale is one of the most widely used instruments to assess perceived parental competence, understood as the degree to which parents feel capable of adequately fulfilling their parental role. Despite its widespread use, studies seeking to determine PSOC normative scores are scarce, especially in specific populations such as mothers with infants younger than 9 months, which limits the interpretation of its scores in applied contexts. This study establishes PSOC normative scores in a nonclinical sample of 522 Spanish mothers with infants aged between 3 and 37 weeks who attended a public early intervention program. Methods: Regression and ANOVA analyses were performed to examine the effect of infant and maternal age, as well as educational level and occupation, on the dimensions of Efficacy, Satisfaction, and Total score of the PSOC. Results: The results show a significant decline in parental competence starting when their infants reach 9 months of age, and lower levels of self-efficacy in mothers over 35 years of age. No significant differences were found according to the educational level or occupation of the mothers. Normative scores are presented by percentiles, offering specific criteria for this stage of child development. Z- and T-scores are included, useful for standardized comparisons between subscale and studies. Conclusions: These findings provide useful information for early detection and psychoeducational interventions within the framework of early intervention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child Trauma and Psychology—2nd Edition)
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16 pages, 1376 KB  
Article
Children’s Behavioral Development in Correlation with Postpartum Mental Health During Pandemic Period
by Arianna Capocasale, Luca Liberati, Danilo Buonsenso, Giulia Bersani, Michela Caprarelli, Daniela Pia Rosaria Chieffo, Ilaria Contaldo, Daniele Gemin, Giulia Giugno, Rosanna Mastricci, Ida Turrini, Chiara Veredice and Ilaria Lazzareschi
Children 2026, 13(4), 467; https://doi.org/10.3390/children13040467 - 28 Mar 2026
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: Maternal postpartum depressive symptoms and the COVID-19 pandemic have both been identified as potential risk factors for socioemotional difficulties in children. This study aimed to assess behavioral outcomes in young children born to mothers previously screened for postpartum depressive symptoms, comparing [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Maternal postpartum depressive symptoms and the COVID-19 pandemic have both been identified as potential risk factors for socioemotional difficulties in children. This study aimed to assess behavioral outcomes in young children born to mothers previously screened for postpartum depressive symptoms, comparing cohorts evaluated during and after the pandemic using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL 1½–5). Methods: An observational follow-up cohort study was conducted on 52 mother–child dyads derived from a previously established maternal cohort screened with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Two cohorts were defined according to the child’s birth period: during-pandemic (January–April 2022) and post-pandemic (October–November 2023) groups. Behavioral outcomes were assessed using CBCL 1½–5. Group differences were tested using parametric or non-parametric methods for continuous variables and χ2 or Fisher’s exact tests for categorical variables. Exploratory regression models and sensitivity analyses were also performed. Results: Children assessed in the post-pandemic cohort showed a lower prevalence of non-normal internalizing scores than those assessed in the during-pandemic cohort, whereas externalizing outcomes and Total Problems did not significantly differ between groups. In exploratory models, a child’s age showed a near-significant association with internalizing outcomes, suggesting that developmental stage at assessment may have contributed to the observed cohort difference. Maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection at delivery was not associated with children’s behavioral outcomes. Conclusions: These findings suggest a possible difference in internalizing behavioral profiles between children assessed in during-pandemic and post-pandemic cohorts. However, this pattern should be interpreted cautiously because the cohorts differed substantially in age at follow-up, and age-related factors may have affected symptom detectability. Continued longitudinal follow-up will be important to clarify whether the observed differences persist over time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child Trauma and Psychology—2nd Edition)
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