A child maltreatment history is reported more frequently among adults with chronic pain compared with the general population; unfortunately, studies have primarily relied upon retrospective maltreatment reports by adults with chronic pain. This prospective study assessed pain symptoms in a cohort of young adult women with a documented history of child maltreatment, compared with a matched cohort of women who did not experience childhood maltreatment. Young women (N = 477) were recruited between ages 14 to 17 years and followed annually to age 19. Of these women, 57% experienced maltreatment (ie, physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, neglect; n = 273) substantiated by child welfare record. Maltreated women were demographically matched to nonmaltreated women, also confirmed by child welfare record. In adolescence, post-traumatic stress was assessed. Women were contacted as young adults (M_age = 24.76; n = 383) and surveyed about their pain experiences, including the presence of pain in the past week, pain severity (0-10), and number of body areas with pain. Mediation path analyses examining the impact of maltreatment and adolescent post-traumatic stress on young adult pain were estimated through structural equation modeling. As adults, women who had experienced child maltreatment reported higher pain intensity, a greater number of pain locations, and were more likely to experience pain in the previous week than nonmaltreated women. Adolescent post-traumatic stress partially explained the effects of maltreatment on pain. Young adult women who experienced child maltreatment are at higher risk of pain, particularly when they also experienced post-traumatic stress as adolescents.

Youth who emancipate from the foster care system often experience poor outcomes during their transition into independent living (e.g., criminal justice involvement and homelessness). Yet, some youth are resilient and achieve positive outcomes. The purpose of this study is to review the resilience factors identified in the literature for youth transitioning out of care. A systematic review of the literature was conducted using PsycINFO, PubMed, and EMBASE databases. A total of 12 studies met our inclusion criteria. A total of 38 different resilience factors were identified across the studies reviewed. From these resilience factors, 18 were statistically significant, including four assets and 14 resources. Understanding the assets and resources that promote resilience can aid clinicians in assessing and capitalizing on youths’ strengths and can help researchers develop effective interventions and target gaps in the literature. Further, it can assist policymakers in generating legislation to improve outcomes for foster youth transitioning out of care. To assist in this process, we systematically reviewed studies to provide a summary of resilience factors currently identified in the literature.

The use of propensity scores as a method to promote causality in studies that cannot use random assignment has increased dramatically since its original publication in 1983. While the utility of these approaches is important, the concepts underlying their use are complex. The purpose of this article is to provide a basic tutorial for conducting analyses using propensity scores and what researchers should be aware of in reading papers that choose propensity scores as a method, as well as in conducting their own research. In addition to the explanations given, examples are presented, based on actual studies, which illustrate the use of propensity scores for regression adjustment, stratification, and matching. The syntax, datasets, and output used for these examples are available on http://jea.sagepub.com/content/early/recent for readers to download and follow.