Individuals facing extreme social disadvantage have a high prevalence of exposure to early life abuse (Kim, Ford, Howard, & Bradford, 2010) and are at increased risk for ongoing interpersonal traumatic experiences (Buhrich, Hodder, & Teeson, 2000). Biopsychosocial factors increasing trauma vulnerability in the socially disadvantaged include: a lack of stable and safe housing; limited financial resources; difficulty accessing appropriate support services; poor physical and/or mental health difficulties; and vulnerability to maladaptive coping behaviour such as use of alcohol and other drugs (Anderson, 2003). Traumatic stress coping responses are often concomitant with considerable personal and societal cost in highly vulnerable individuals (DeForge, Belcher, O’Rourke, & Lindsey, 2008). This has important implications for policy development and strategic planning, which target successful exiting from the perpetuating cycle of social disadvantage and housing instability.

An identified challenge to successful intervention implementation is breakdown in initial engagement with offered support structures (Hopper, Bassuk, & Olivet, 2010). Research seeking to understand individual differences in traumatic experiences is important in developing strategies to engage with at risk individuals and facilitate better access to support structures. Unfortunately, very little is known about the nature of individual differences in complex trauma experiences. This paper aims to address this gap in the literature by adopting a person-centred approach to investigate the nature of interpersonal trauma experiences in individuals experiencing extreme social disadvantage.