Susan Sierau

Universität Leipzig, Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Post-Doc

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Papers by Susan Sierau

Die Konsequenzen traumatischer Erfahrungen

Trauma & Gewalt

Klassifikation und Diagnostik von Misshandlungen und Vernachlässigungen im Kindes- und Jugendalter

Trauma und Gewalt

Bewältigungsmechanismen unbegleiteter minderjähriger Geflüchteter

Trauma & Gewalt

Psychosoziale Arbeitsbelastung von Mitarbeitenden der stationären Jugendhilfe für unbegleitete minderjährige Geflüchtete

Trauma & Gewalt

Begleitete und unbegleitete minderjährige Geflüchtete

Trauma & Gewalt

Childhood Emotional and Conduct Problems in Childhood and Adolescence Differentially Associated with Intergenerational Maltreatment Continuity and Parental Internalizing Symptoms

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology

Herausforderungen im Fluchtprozess unbegleiteter Jugendlicher

Kindheit und Entwicklung

Zusammenfassung. Spätestens seit 2015 ist ein Anstieg an Publikationen zu verzeichnen, die sich p... more Zusammenfassung. Spätestens seit 2015 ist ein Anstieg an Publikationen zu verzeichnen, die sich psychischen Belastungen von Geflüchteten widmen, wobei die Gruppe der unbegleiteten jungen Geflüchteten als besonders schutzbedürftig und vulnerabel für psychische Auffälligkeiten beschrieben wird. Fluchtphasenmodelle gehen von potentiell traumatisierenden Ereignissen im Herkunftsland, während der Flucht und im Aufnahmeland als mögliche Ursachen für psychische Belastungen aus, vernachlässigen jedoch im Fall von minderjährigen oder jungen volljährigen Geflüchteten die Besonderheiten der Adoleszenzphase, in der viele Jugendliche, unabhängig von ihrer Herkunft, mit einer Reihe von wichtigen Entwicklungsaufgaben konfrontiert sind. Die vorliegende Arbeit stellt eine theoretische Erweiterung von Fluchtphasenmodellen um adoleszenzspezifische Entwicklungsanforderungen aus einer kultursensiblen Perspektive dar und nimmt eine Spezifizierung dieser Modelle für junge unbegleitete Geflüchtete vor.

Hair cortisol, lifetime traumatic experiences and psychopathology in unaccompanied refugee minors

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Getting less than their fair share: Maltreated youth are hyper-cooperative yet vulnerable to exploitation in a public goods game

Developmental Science

Alone, but protected? Effects of social support on mental health of unaccompanied refugee minors

European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Follow-up study regarding the medium-term effectiveness of the home-visiting program "Pro Kind" at age 7 years: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Trials, Jan 20, 2018

Pro Kind is a German adaptation of the US Nurse Family Partnership program. It is an intervention... more Pro Kind is a German adaptation of the US Nurse Family Partnership program. It is an intervention based on home visits targeting first-time mothers from disadvantaged populations. Pro Kind was implemented as a randomized control trial from 2006 to 2012 with N = 755 first-time mothers (TG n = 394, CG n = 391). The 7-8-year follow-up aims to assess the mid-term effects of the program. Mid-term outcomes are being assessed by trained assessors. In a multimethod approach telephone interviews, on-site interviews, observations and developmental tests will be held in order to assess children's and mothers' life satisfaction, mental health, cognitive and social development, parenting behavior, signs of child abuse or neglect as well as the family's socio-economic status. Furthermore, administrative data will be accessed to obtain information regarding the mother's usage of pediatric health care, welfare usage and employment history. Results regarding the mid-term effects of t...

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[Factors Influencing Theory of Mind Development in Preschoolers within the Context of Early Interventions]

Praxis der Kinderpsychologie und Kinderpsychiatrie, 2018

Factors Influencing Theory of Mind Development in Preschoolers within the Context of Early Interv... more Factors Influencing Theory of Mind Development in Preschoolers within the Context of Early Interventions The Theory of Mind (ToM) competency is closely related to the child's cognitive, language, and socio-emotional development. In early interventions, skills and developmental processes associated with ToM development are often primary intervention targets, but empirical support for direct or indirect influences of early interventions on ToM development is missing so far. Within the home visiting program "Pro Kind" N = 755 families were accompanied by professionals from the last trimester of pregnancy until the child's second birthday. In the present follow-up study we investigated influences of treatment, pre- and postnatal family environment, parental competencies and child competencies on the ToM ability in a sample of n = 39 five-year-old children using Ctree analyses. Prenatal and current parental stress as well as an enriched family learning environment, and ...

Latent trajectories of internalizing symptoms from preschool to school age: A multi-informant study in a high-risk sample

Development and psychopathology, Jan 29, 2018

Recent proposals suggest early adversity sets in motion particularly chronic and neurobiologicall... more Recent proposals suggest early adversity sets in motion particularly chronic and neurobiologically distinct trajectories of internalizing symptoms. However, few prospective studies in high-risk samples delineate distinct trajectories of internalizing symptoms from preschool age onward. We examined trajectories in a high-risk cohort, oversampled for internalizing symptoms, several preschool risk/maintenance factors, and school-age outcomes. Parents of 325 children completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire on up to four waves of data collection from preschool (3-5 years) to school age (8-9 years) and Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment interviews at both ages. Multi-informant data were collected on risk factors and symptoms. Growth mixture modelling identified four trajectory classes of internalizing symptoms with stable low, rising low-to-moderate, stable moderate, and stable high symptoms. Children in the stable high symptom trajectory manifested clinically relevant in...

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[Trauma First – an Outpatient, Cognitive-Behavioural Intervention for Children and Adolescents With Trauma-Related Disorders: a Pilot Study]

Zeitschrift fur Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Jan 22, 2018

Although traumatic experiences are one of the most important causes for psychiatric disorders in ... more Although traumatic experiences are one of the most important causes for psychiatric disorders in childhood and adulthood, trauma-specific intervention approaches are rarely applied in German outpatient clinics. The aim of the present pilot study was to evaluate a manualized, outpatient, cognitive-behavioural intervention programme (“Trauma First”) for children and youths with trauma and stress-related disorders. We hypothesized that there would be specific improvements in PTSD symptoms as well as in depression, anxiety, and behavioural problems following the structured intervention Programme. The pilot study consisted of a pre-post-test design without a control group. Symptom severity of 33 children and youths (age: 10–15 years; 54.5 % female) with traumatic experiences was assessed by self-ratings and parent-ratings before and after the treatment. After the treatment, improvements were found in children’s PTSD symptoms, depression, anxiety, and behavioural problems (Cohen’s d: 0.51...

Like mother like daughter, like father like son? Intergenerational transmission of internalizing symptoms at early school age: a longitudinal study

European child & adolescent psychiatry, Jan 4, 2018

Despite the well-established link between parental depressive symptoms and children's interna... more Despite the well-established link between parental depressive symptoms and children's internalizing symptoms, studies that divide transmission into gender-specific components remain scarce. Therefore, the present study focused on gender-specific associations between internalizing symptoms of parents and children over the course of early school age, a key stage where gender-specific roles are increasingly adopted. Participants were 272 children (49.6% girls) oversampled for internalizing symptoms. Parents completed questionnaires twice during early school age (mean age time 1 = 7.4 years; SD = 0.24; mean age time 2 = 8.5 years; SD = 0.28). Mothers and fathers separately reported on their own depressive symptoms and their child's internalizing symptoms. Latent multiple group analyses indicated gender-independent stability as well as gender-specific relations between parental and child outcomes. Maternal depressive symptoms were concurrently associated with symptoms of girls an...

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Commentary: The importance of exploring dose-dependent, subtype-specific, and age-related effects of maltreatment on the HPA axis and the mediating link to psychopathology. A response to Fisher (2017)

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry

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Reduced hair cortisol after maltreatment mediates externalizing symptoms in middle childhood and adolescence

Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, Jan 28, 2017

The enduring impact of childhood maltreatment on biological systems and ensuing psychopathology r... more The enduring impact of childhood maltreatment on biological systems and ensuing psychopathology remains incompletely understood. Long-term effects of stress may be reflected in cumulative cortisol secretion over several months, which is now quantifiable via hair cortisol concentrations (HCC). We conducted a first comprehensive investigation utilizing the potential of hair cortisol analysis in a large sample of maltreated and nonmaltreated children and adolescents. Participants included 537 children and adolescents (3-16 years; 272 females) with maltreatment (n = 245) or without maltreatment histories (n = 292). Maltreated subjects were recruited from child protection services (CPS; n = 95), youth psychiatric services (n = 56), and the community (n = 94). Maltreatment was coded using the Maltreatment Classification System drawing on caregiver interviews and complemented with CPS records. Caregivers and teachers reported on child mental health. HCC were assessed in the first 3 cm hair...

A Multisource Approach to Assessing Child Maltreatment From Records, Caregivers, and Children

Child maltreatment, Jan 26, 2016

Practitioners and researchers alike face the challenge that different sources report inconsistent... more Practitioners and researchers alike face the challenge that different sources report inconsistent information regarding child maltreatment. The present study capitalizes on concordance and discordance between different sources and probes applicability of a multisource approach to data from three perspectives on maltreatment-Child Protection Services (CPS) records, caregivers, and children. The sample comprised 686 participants in early childhood (3- to 8-year-olds; n = 275) or late childhood/adolescence (9- to 16-year-olds; n = 411), 161 from two CPS sites and 525 from the community oversampled for psychosocial risk. We established three components within a factor-analytic approach: the shared variance between sources on presence of maltreatment (convergence), nonshared variance resulting from the child's own perspective, and the caregiver versus CPS perspective. The shared variance between sources was the strongest predictor of caregiver- and self-reported child symptoms. Child...

The Pizzagame: A virtual public goods game to assess cooperative behavior in children and adolescents

Behavior research methods, Jan 7, 2016

Social dilemmas are characterized by conflicts between immediate self-interest and long-term coll... more Social dilemmas are characterized by conflicts between immediate self-interest and long-term collective goals. Although such conflicts lie at the heart of various challenging social interactions, we know little about how cooperation in these situations develops. To extend work on social dilemmas to child and adolescent samples, we developed an age-appropriate computer task (the Pizzagame) with the structural features of a public goods game (PGG). We administered the Pizzagame to a sample of 191 children 9 to 16 years of age. Subjects were led to believe they were playing the game over the Internet with three sets of two same-aged, same-sex co-players. In fact, the co-players were computer-generated and programmed to expose children to three consecutive conditions: (1) a cooperative strategy, (2) a selfish strategy, and (3) divergent cooperative-selfish strategies. Supporting the validity of the Pizzagame, our results revealed that children and adolescents displayed conditional coope...

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Hair cortisol in maltreated children and adolescents: Importance of developmental period and maltreatment characteristics

Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2016

Susan Sierau

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