Perspectives of Young Mothers on Trauma-Informed Strategies Proposed by their Community Organization: A Qualitative Case Study

2026-03-19T05:36:45+00:00

Objectives: This case study aimed to explore young mothers’ perspectives of trauma-informed care (TIC) strategies developed by the employees of a community organization they frequent.

Methods: Young mothers (≤25 years old; n = 12), who were already using the organization’s services, were invited to participate in group or individual semi-structured interviews. They were asked to share their opinions on TIC strategies proposed by the employees. This qualitative case study, grounded in pragmatism, used a directed content analysis approach.

Results: The results showed that several TIC strategies were seen as helpful, particularly those offering structured guidance, improved communication, and support from both the organization and peer programs. Perspectives on strategies aiming to increase autonomy were mixed, with mothers valuing opportunities for increased agency over their service participation while emphasizing the importance of continued organizational support. Some strategies initially developed by the employees to address cultural, historical and gender considerations generated limited insights and discussions amongst service participants.

Conclusion: This study contributes to the limited literature on service participants’ perspectives of TIC. While mothers valued most strategies proposed, misalignments with employees’ ideas for TIC strategies demonstrated the relevance of including their voices during TIC implementation. The limited insights on topics related to cultural and gender considerations illustrates the importance of including participants from various social locations.

Implications: This study highlights the relevance for future studies to include service participants in the design and implementation of TIC strategies, and to adopt a collaborative approach that values trauma survivors’ experiential knowledge.

Paths to Disclosure: Variability in Adolescent Child Sexual Abuse Reporting Across Instruments

2026-03-19T07:08:51+00:00

Objectives: This study compared rates of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) disclosure across three commonly used assessment instruments in a clinical adolescent sample: the Child Attachment Interview (CAI), the Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (C-DISC), and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ).

Methods: Participants (N = 421) completed one or more of the instruments. CSA disclosure rates were calculated for each, and McNemar’s tests were used to compare rates of disclosure between each pair of tools.

Results: The CAI yielded the highest overall percentage of CSA disclosures (18.8%), followed by the C‑DISC (13.1%), and the CTQ (12.9%). However, McNemar’s test revealed that while the CAI elicited significantly more disclosures than the C‑DISC, it did not differ significantly from the CTQ. The CAI and CTQ each identified unique cases not captured by the other, while the C‑DISC consistently elicited the fewest disclosures.

Implications: Findings suggest that different instruments may facilitate disclosure for different subgroups of adolescents. The CAI’s narrative relational format may support disclosure for some youth, while the CTQ’s private self‑report format may do so for others. The C-DISC’s structured symptom-based format may limit reflective processing. These results underscore the need for multi-method assessment strategies to more fully capture CSA experiences.

International Journal of Child and Adolescent Resilience

Perspectives of Young Mothers on Trauma-Informed Strategies Proposed by their Community Organization: A Qualitative Case Study

Paths to Disclosure: Variability in Adolescent Child Sexual Abuse Reporting Across Instruments