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Research on Child Trauma and Protection—2nd Edition

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Editor

Prof. Dr. Brian Littlechild

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Guest Editor

Department of Allied Health Professionals, Midwifery and Social Work, School of Health and Social Wo, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK
Interests: qualitative research; mixed methods research, ethics, cultural and ethnicity issues; child protection; mental health; trauma-informed services; adolescents; youth offending; interpersonal violence
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the causes and effects of trauma in relation to children’s well-being have become an increasing topic of concern and development among academics and professionals working in the protection of children and young people.

Our knowledge of the effects of trauma in terms of emotional well-being, relationships, education, employment, and life opportunities is constantly growing. This Special Issue will examine what we mean by trauma and how research in this field is examining and identifying different aspects of how trauma impacts the development of children and how it can have negative lifelong effects or, conversely, promote resilience.

We welcome submissions exploring the psychological, social, and physiological effects of different forms of child abuse and neglect, to advance our knowledge and/or the best means of investigation in this area.

We welcome submissions that also address traumas arising from child abuse in relation to equality and diversity, such as gender, LGBTQ+, culture and ethnicity, and disability.

Works examining the effects of trauma from childhood abuse in adults, in terms of mental health, social functioning, parenting, and other related factors, are also encouraged.

Submissions may take the form of original research, systematic and narrative reviews, or pieces on how particular and/or novel research methodologies and methods can help make advances in this field.

For this Special Issue, we invite submissions that advance the ways in which professionals and academics can best understand the experiences of children who go through trauma, and the many different ways in which this can be created and exhibited, in order to better protect their health and well-being from birth through to adulthood.

Prof. Dr. Brian Littlechild
Guest Editor

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-anonymized 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

child abuse and neglect
causes of trauma for children
effects of trauma for children
effects of childhood trauma in adulthood
evidence-based application of knowledge for the prevention and treatment of trauma
effective and/or novel methods of inquiry and research into the causes and effects of trauma in children

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Research

19 pages, 1040 KB

Open AccessArticle

Examining Subtypes of Victimization in Saudi Arabia: A Comparative Analysis Across Gender Using PISA 2022

by Georgios Sideridis and Mohammed H. Alghamdi

Children 2026, 13(5), 589; https://doi.org/10.3390/children13050589 - 24 Apr 2026

Viewed by 452

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Bullying victimization is a significant threat to adolescents’ psychological well-being and academic functioning. However, most prior research has relied on variable-centered approaches that may obscure meaningful heterogeneity in students’ victimization experiences. The present study aimed to identify latent subtypes of bullying victimization among adolescents in Saudi Arabia using nationally representative PISA 2022 data and to examine whether the structure and prevalence of these subtypes differed across gender. Methods: Data were drawn from the Saudi Arabian sample of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 and included 6709 adolescents. Bullying victimization was assessed using 11 categorical indicators representing different forms of victimization. Weighted descriptive analyses were first conducted to estimate the prevalence of specific bullying behaviors. Multigroup latent class analysis (LCA) was then applied separately across gender to identify victimization profiles and evaluate measurement and structural invariance. Sequential invariance testing was used to determine whether the latent classes had equivalent meaning and prevalence across males and females. This study involved secondary analysis of an existing large-scale educational dataset and did not require trial registration. Results: Weighted descriptive estimates showed that the prevalence of specific bullying victimization experiences ranged from 7.5% to 24.3%, with boys reporting greater exposure than girls on most overt and coercive forms. Class enumeration supported a parsimonious three-class solution for both genders, reflecting low, moderate, and high victimization severity. Approximately 71–79% of students were classified in the low-risk group, 14–18% in the moderate-risk group, and 3–14% in the high-risk group. Measurement invariance testing supported full invariance of item-response probabilities across gender, indicating that the latent classes represented substantively comparable victimization patterns for males and females. In contrast, structural invariance was not supported, as males were more likely to belong to the high-victimization class, whereas females were more likely to be classified in the low-risk group. Conclusions: The findings indicate that gender differences in bullying victimization are attributable to differences in the level of exposure rather than differences in the underlying structure of victimization experiences. Bullying victimization appears to be concentrated within a relatively small but highly vulnerable subgroup of adolescents. These results support the importance of universal school-based anti-bullying policies and prevention initiatives, while also highlighting the need for targeted psychosocial support and protective interventions for students experiencing chronic or multiple forms of victimization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Child Trauma and Protection—2nd Edition)

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