Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p> <bold>Background:</bold> Early trauma significantly affects child development; however, inconsistent terminology and fragmented research hinder a comprehensive understanding of their combined and recurrent effects. <bold>Objective:</bold> We captured the effects of individual and combined trauma on children’s cognitive, language, socio-emotional, and psychopathological development while controlling for recurrence, sex, and age. <bold>Participants and Setting:</bold> Data from 181 children (47% female) aged 5–10 years were retrospectively analyzed. All participants were assessed at the LOCIKA Center in Prague, a facility providing care for children exposed to trauma. <bold>Methods:</bold> Bayesian statistical methods were used to examine the impact of trauma (psychological abuse, physical abuse, witnessing domestic violence, and family problems) and recurrence on the Intelligence and Development Scales (IDS) and Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children (TSCYC) scores. <bold>Results:</bold> No significant sex-related differences were presented in trauma prevalence. The results indicate a high recurrence of physical abuse (odds ratio [OR] = 7.4) and witnessing domestic violence (OR = 7.3). Girls scored higher on several TSCYC subscales, including emotion regulation and expressive language, as well as on the socio-emotional index. Age is negatively correlated with emotion regulation. Specific trauma types or recurrence did not consistently predict clinically significant TSCYC scores or significantly affect IDS scores. <bold>Conclusions:</bold> Specific trauma types did not significantly predict scores on IDS or TSCYC. However, meaningful patterns in trauma recurrence and age- and sex-related differences in this sample are highlighted. These results underscore the importance of considering developmental and sex-specific factors when assessing the psychological effects of early trauma. </p>