Assessment of Childhood Trauma

Abstract

AbstractLegally contested issues involving children may include a variety of traumatic events. Forensic referrals regarding childhood trauma differ in purpose, including, but not limited to, those associated with personal injury litigation, child abuse cases, child custody conflicts (including allegations of child abuse or domestic violence), special education eligibility, and delinquency cases in which PTSD may be relevant to the offense or the potential for rehabilitation. Forensically relevant referrals can represent a wide variety of interpersonal and noninterpersonal forms of trauma. How a child reacts to a stressful event is a function of a complex biopsychosocial process, including, but not limited to, the level of stress, the nature of the traumatic event, the child's coping ability, predisposition for autonomic arousal, the child's personality, and the availability for constructive support following the trauma. The forensic assessment is different in scope, purpose, and method than the traditional clinical evaluation, including the use of assessment instruments and interview formats consistent with the nature of the trauma being considered and the child's stage of developmental functioning. Each type of referral demands knowledge of the specifically relevant law of the applicable jurisdiction, developmentally appropriate understanding about the nature of the trauma, and must focus on the relevant psycho‐legal questions. Trauma‐related evaluations which are objectively performed, utilizing multimodal assessment methods, and integrate specialized knowledge about trauma and its effects upon children can provide the trier of fact with valuable information necessary to a decision.