Assessment techniques and South African community studies of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents

Abstract

This paper reviews: (i) trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) assessment instruments currently in use and (ii) trauma and PTSD studies in South African children and adolescents. Rates of trauma exposure in South African children and adolescents range from 40% to 100% and rates of PTSD range from 6% to 22%. Although many reliable and valid assessment instruments are available in the trauma field, comparison across trauma studies is made difficult by the differing methodologies and assessment techniques.