ORIGINAL ARTICLE Examining the Complex Trauma Definition Using Children’ s Self-Reports Rachel Wamser-Nanney 1 Published online: 13 May 2016 # Springer International Publishing 2016 Abstract The purpose of the present study was to examine the evidence for the complex trauma definition in children, utilizing children’ s self-reported trauma-related symptoms. Two hundred and twelve children (ages 8–16) exposed to a traumatic event were included in the study. The symptom reports of children who experienced complex trauma were contrasted with children who experienced a trauma that did not meet the full complex trauma definition: 1) acute noninterpersonal trauma, 2) acute interpersonal trauma, 3) trauma that began early in life (i.e., prior to age 10), and 4) chronic interpersonal trauma that began later in childhood.. Significant differences in children’ s self-reported symptoms were observed when children who experienced complex trau- ma were compared to those who experienced a traumatic event that met none of the characteristics of complex trauma exposure. Explanations for the findings are discussed. Keywords Complex trauma . Definitional considerations . Children . Assessment Alarming amounts of children are exposed to traumatic events, with research estimates indicating that roughly two- thirds of children will experience a traumatic event prior to adulthood (Copeland et al. 2007; Finkelhor et al. 2009). The frequency of traumatic exposure in children is disconcerting in light of the compelling evidence that exposure to even a single occurrence of trauma is associated with a variety of adverse and chronic outcomes (Anda et al. 2006; Cicchetti and Toth 1995; Felitti et al. 1998; Putnam 2003). However, for many of these children, traumatic exposure is not limited to an isolated incident, but rather, it is repeated and chronic (Finkelhor et al. 2007, 2009). Various terms have been used in the literature to describe the experience of extended or repeated trauma, in- cluding complex trauma (Herman 1992; Cook et al. 2005; van der Kolk 2005), Type I and Type II trauma (Terr 1991), polyvictimization (Finkelhor et al. 2007; Ford et al. 2011), accumulated or cumulative trauma (Briere et al. 2008; Cloitre et al. 2003) and cumulative risk or adversity (Appleyard et al. 2005; Seery et al. 2010). Although the terms and definitions may differ, the number of constructs devoted to multiple and chronic trauma exposure may suggest the sig- nificance of this form of trauma exposure and the need for a construct to describe the aftermath of chronic and repeated trauma. This need is buttressed by empirical data; for instance, in one nationally representative sample, 22 % of children re- ported experiencing four or more different kinds of victimiza- tion within a single year (Finkelhor et al. 2007). The experience of repeated and extended trauma is relative- ly common among trauma-exposed children; however, much of the prior research literature has focused on single types of trauma. This is unfortunate because if single forms of trauma are examined in isolation and co-occurring trauma is not con- trolled for, research may overestimate the negative impact of any particular type of trauma. Importantly, the interrelation- ships between trauma exposures and the potential additive effects from multiple co-occurring forms of trauma will re- main undetected (Finkelhor et al. 2007). Fortunately, the liter- ature regarding multiple and co-occurring forms of trauma, including complex trauma, is emerging, albeit slowly. Complex trauma is commonly defined as chronic interperson- al trauma that begins early in life (Herman 1992). It has been argued that exposure to this results in fundamentally distinct and unique outcomes that are not captured by the diagnostic * Rachel Wamser-Nanney WamserR@umsl.edu 1 Missouri Institute of Mental Health (MIMH), University of Missouri- St. Louis, One University Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63134, USA Journ Child Adol Trauma (2016) 9:295–304 DOI 10.1007/s40653-016-0098-8