Transdiagnostic Posttraumatic Symptom Systems Across Trauma-Exposure Patterns in a Large International Sample: From Network Structure to Stability and Simulated Perturbations
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Background: Potentially traumatic events (PTEs) are highly prevalent, yet post-traumatic trajectories are heterogeneous. Trauma frequency and age at first exposure may contribute to this heterogeneity across diagnostic boundaries. Network analysis and recent complex-systems methods provide complementary approaches to examining symptom interactions, symptom- state stability, and responses to targeted perturbations.Method: Global Psychotrauma Screen data from 8,209 trauma-exposed adults residing in 129 countries were analysed across trauma frequency (single vs. multiple/prolonged events) and age at first exposure (childhood vs. adulthood). Transdiagnostic symptom networks were compared using Network Comparison Tests, followed by stability landscape analyses and NodeIdentifyR-informed treatment and prevention perturbations.Results: Multiple/prolonged-event and childhood networks preferentially stabilized high- symptom states. In contrast, the single-event network preferentially stabilized a low-symptom state, whereas the adulthood network showed no preferential phase. Simulated treatment and prevention perturbations produced distinct reorganizations of stability across trauma-exposure patterns. Notably, these differences in system-level stability emerged despite no statistically detectable between-group differences in global strength or network structure.Conclusions: Stability-based properties may therefore complement conventional network comparisons in characterizing heterogeneity in trauma-related psychopathology. From a clinical perspective, some trauma-exposure patterns may be associated with symptom systems that are more prone to persist in high-symptom states, potentially informing hypotheses about differential recovery and vulnerability to symptom escalation. These interpretations require replication in longitudinal and interventional designs.
Source: PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints)
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7212294831