PTSD In Children Research Articles

Age, Childhood Trauma, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Substance Use Disorder in the Deep South

We examined the relationship of reported childhood trauma and PTSD symptoms in a sample (N = 105) of individuals aged 19 to 80 receiving treatment for substance use and opioid use disorders in federally qualified health centers. Fifty-two percent of the sample was age 39 or younger, 30% were in their 40s and 18% were aged 50 and older. Thirty-two percent did not graduate high school and 36% had a high school education or equivalent. Seventy percent reported experiencing adverse childhood experiences (ACES). Although harmful alcohol use was low, 83% of the sample reported substantial or severe substance use, with 41% of the total reporting opioid use. ACES predicted current PTSD symptoms. Telehealth treatment considerations include: 1) internet access, 2) health and mental health literacy, and 3) monitoring for dissociation when using mindfulness-based relapse prevention treatment.

Four perspectives on traumatized youths’ therapeutic alliance: Correspondence and outcome predictions

ABSTRACT Objective Does the rater-perspective of youths’ therapeutic alliance matter? To answer this, we evaluated the relationships between four perspectives of youths’ alliance, then, we examined whether each perspective and potential discordance between the perspectives predicted outcomes. Method Participants were 65 youth (M age = 15.11, SD = 2.14; 76.9% girls) undergoing trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) and their therapists (n = 24). Youths’ alliance was rated by youth, therapists and parents using the Therapeutic Alliance Scale for Children-revised and by observers using the Therapy Process Observational Coding System-Alliance scale. Posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) were assessed with the Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS) and the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for Children and Adolescents (CAPS-CA). Results The alliance ratings by youth-parent, parent-therapist, and therapist-observer significantly correlated. Only a higher youth-rated alliance significantly predicted fewer PTSS. Furthermore, a higher therapist-rated than youth-rated alliance significantly predicted higher scores on CPSS and CAPS-CA, and a higher parent-rated than youth-rated alliance predicted significantly higher CPSS score. Conclusion Therapists should explicitly check in with youth clients about the alliance; because only youths’ evaluation of their alliance predicted the outcome and an overestimation of their alliance by therapists and parents predicted more PTSS. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00635752..

MENTAL HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF PATIENTS WITH CHILDHOOD CANCER. (REVIEW OF FOREIGN LITERATURE)

Abstract: The need to analyze foreign literature in order to study information about the quality of life of patients who underwent cancer in childhood or adolescence is dictated by the high prevalence of mental disorders in the long-term period and insufficient knowledge of the possibility of their compensation. Purpose: to analyze foreign literature for studying the quality of life of adult patients who underwent cancer in childhood or adolescence, the social adaptation of these patients. General information. In pediatric patients, the fear of re-illness, difficulty in returning to school and in a group of emotionally significant peers, and dependence on significant adults are mentioned. Adolescence introduces additional difficulties in studying the problem. Quality of life after lymphoblastic leukemia. Programs to support cancer patients of childhood and adolescents can significantly reduce the number of complications associated with the psychological and social aspects of the illness. Quality of life for children with cancer and their families. The use of psychotherapeutic trainings for all family, the opportunity to share their experiences in psychotherapeutic groups showed the effectiveness of these measures in the form of reducing the level of anxiety and other psychological consequences. Symptoms of PTSD in children who have had cancer and in children who have experienced other severe stressful events. The level of PTSD symptoms in children who have undergone cancer is higher than in the comparison groups. Fertility and Oncology. Problems with reproductive function after oncological disease significantly affect self-perception, socialization of an adult, and can cause the formation of various depressive and anxious states. Features of adolescent response. Psychological assistance should include teaching constructive strategies for coping with stress, and help restore cognitive functions. Conclusion. There is a need for psychological support of children, adolescents and their families in a difficult period of life, adaptation to the consequences of cancer.

Non-verbal cognitive development, learning, and symptoms of PTSD in 3- to 6-year-old refugee children

As IQ tests are commonly used as key assessment method, we address the question whether our commonly used standardized IQ tests are appropriate for children from families of diverse cultures and different educational levels in a refugee population. We examined 109 refugee children aged 3–7 years (M = 5.10 years, SD = 1.25) with the “Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children “ (KABC-II; Kaufmann & Kaufmann, 2015) on a language-free scale (Scale of Intellectual Functioning, SIF) and learning performance (subtest Atlantis). With a non-verbal IQ of 81.5 (SD = 18.01), the population mean of the refugee children is more than one standard deviation lower than the mean of the German norm population. Standardized scores follow the normal distribution and are not correlated to any of the assessed markers of adversity (flight duration, time spent in Germany, child PTSD in parent rating, parental symptom load, and parental education level).Conclusion: The interpretation of IQ test results for refugee children should be done cautiously as results may underestimate their cognitive capacity. Environmental factors, such as high illiteracy among parents in this study, the lack of institutional education of children and high lifetime stress, may explain our findings.Trial registration: DRKS00021150.What is Known:• There is a high pervasiveness for the use of standardized IQ tests in the German health and education system to determine eligibility for special education and social services.What is New:• Refugee children score significantly lower than German children in a language-free IQ test. As results are normally distributed and not correlated to any of the assessed markers of adversity, the low scores in the refugee group might be due to missing formal education.

50.1 Additional, Alternative Avoidant Cluster Symptoms for the Diagnosis of PTSD in Children

This study sought to explore developmentally sensitive avoidant cluster symptoms for children. Abused children (N = 119; mean age = 9.96 years; SD = 1.67) were recruited in a southern state; 65.5% were female, 68.9% were White, and 31.1% were Black. Data were collected in an NIMH study (5-RO1MH49784-04). Informed consent and assent were completed by parents and children. The Abuse Dimensions Inventory (ADI) measures severity of physical and sexual abuse. Data collection for this NIMH study began prior to the release of the DSM-IV, so the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents—Revised (DICA-R) was utilized for the assessment of PTSD and social anxiety disorder (SAD). The Child Dissociative Checklist (CDC) is a screening measure to access dissociative symptoms based on ratings by caregivers. The CDC mean was 6.93 (SD = 6.54). For the creation of developmentally sensitive, avoidant symptoms, using the DICA-R, if a parent endorsed symptoms that met the criteria for SAD, then the diagnosis of SAD was counted as one avoidant symptom. For dissociation, the CDC was used with a cutoff greater than 12 to establish an alternative avoidant symptom. Of the 119 children, the percentage meeting the threshold set by DSM-III-R was identified for each cluster based on child and parent interviews: Reexperiencing (child: 84.9%; parent: 67.2%); Arousal (child: 84.9%; parent: 66.3%); Avoidance (child: 76.5%; parent: 58.1%); and Positive Diagnosis (child: 62.2%; parent: 31.1%). The percentage of children meeting the threshold of 3, but using the 2 additional symptoms (SAD and CDC) as developmental equivalents for avoidance, was identified based on child and parent interviews: Child PTSD (child: 66.7%; parent: 43.9%); Child PTSD + SAD (child: 78.2%; parent: 53.6%); Child PTSD + CDC (child: 78.0%; parent: 56.0%); Child PTSD + SAD + CDC (child: 89.5%; parent: 75.7%). The developmentally sensitive avoidant criteria resulted in higher rates of PTSD. It is plausible that clinging to a safe parent served the function of reducing distress (reexperiencing and arousal). Similarly, dissociative symptoms may reduce distress. The study limitations included: 1) it was a retrospective analysis of study data that used DSM-III-R criteria; 2) it was conducted in one southern state; and 3) variables used for alternative SAD and dissociative symptoms were available in a subset (N = 66) of the sample.

Symptoms of PTSD and Depression among Central American Immigrant Youth

The aim of this paper is to explore the mental health challenges that Central American immigrant youth face before and after arriving in the United States. This population is hard to reach, marginalized, and disproportionately exposed to trauma from a young age. This paper investigates the mental health stressors experienced by Central American immigrant youth and asylum seekers, including unaccompanied minors, surveyed in the U.S. in 2017. This mixed methods study uses qualitative data from interviews along with close-ended questions and the validated PHQ-8 Questionnaire and the Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS). These new migrants face numerous challenges to mental health, increased psychopathological risk exacerbated by high levels of violence and low state-capacity in their countries of origin, restrictive immigration policies, the fear of deportation for themselves and their family members, and the pressure to integrate once in the U.S. We find that Central American youth have seen improvements in their self-reported mental health after migrating to the U.S., but remain at risk of further trauma exposure, depression, and PTSD. We find that they exhibit a disproportionate likelihood of having lived through traumatizing experiences that put them at higher risk for psychological distress and disorders that may create obstacles to integration. These can, in turn, create new stressors that exacerbate PTSD, depression, and anxiety. These conditions can be minimized through programs that aid immigrant integration and mental health.

Sleep Duration Buffers The Effects of Adversity on Mental Health Among Recently Immigrated Latinx Adolescents.

The rate of Latinx migration to the U.S. has risen rapidly over the last several decades. Recognizing that Latinx migrant youth are exposed to a high rate of adverse events and that sleep has potential buffering effects on mental health, the current study aimed to examine sleep duration as a moderator of the link between childhood adversity and emotional and behavioral symptoms among Latinx migrant youth. One hundred and twelve first-generation migrants of Latinx ethnicity (and 46 caregivers) participated in this study; the average age was 19 (SD = 2). Participants self-reported demographics: 59.8% of participants were male, with the racial breakdown as follows: 38.8% white, 6.1% black, 4.1% mixed race, and 51% marked "other." Data were collected from a public high school for immigrant youth in the Southwestern U.S. and included average sleep duration, Adverse Childhood Experiences; the Child PTSD Symptoms Scale and the Child Behavior Checklist. Findings indicated experiences of neglect in childhood were associated with youth-reported mental health symptoms, but this relation was significantly moderated by sleep duration such that the relation was weakened in the presence of high sleep duration. Both effects were statistically significant and of medium size. Caregiver reports supported the buffering effects of sleep; medium or large interactions between sleep and all three adversity variables (abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction) were noted in multivariate analyses. The current study takes an important first step in identifying that short sleep duration is prevalent among Central American immigrant youth. Findings suggest that sleep duration has important public health potential as a means of buffering the effects of childhood adversity on mental health in a vulnerable group.

The symptom structure of posttraumatic stress disorder and co-morbid depression among college students with childhood abuse experience: A network analysis

BackgroundPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression are highly co-morbid among individuals with childhood abuse history, while the mechanism of the co-morbidity is highly debated. This study sought to extent the work among college students with network analysis, which is a novel method that sees the co-morbidity from a symptom interacting perspective. MethodsData was collected from 476 college students who were assessed to have childhood abuse history, PTSD and depression at the same time, using Childhood Trauma Questionnaire- Short Form, PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 and The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression. We created a Graphical Gaussian Model (GGM) network to show associations between symptom pairs and a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) to estimate potential casual relationships among symptoms. ResultsThe GGM network was reliably stable, feeling sad (Depression) and trouble experiencing positive feelings (PTSD) were the most central nodes. Trouble experiencing positive feelings and several negative affect symptoms, sleep problems and difficulty in concentrating were acting as important bridging nodes. The DAG network suggested the key triggering roles of exaggerated startle (PTSD) and several re-experiencing symptoms. LimitationsThe study used cross-sectional data and self-reported measures. Results from network analysis could be affected by scale factors and contain spurious correlations. ConclusionsIn the childhood-abuse-related co-morbid structure, several negative affect symptoms both in PTSD and depression have pivotal roles, hyper-arousal symptoms and re-experiencing symptoms could trigger the co-morbid structure. Illustrating the strength and limitations of network analysis, this study help target the potentially influential symptoms for better clinical intervention.

Childhood Trauma and Clinical Correlates of Dissociative Disorders among Adolescents: An Exploratory Study

Introduction: Though a substantial number of studies indicate the nexus between childhood trauma, PTSD, and dissociative disorders among adolescents, Indian literature is mostly silent. As reported incidents of child abuse are alarming in India, it was important to explore further on the subject. Objective: To explore the relationship between childhood trauma and other clinical correlates like anxiety, PTSD and behavioural problems in adolescents diagnosed with dissociative disorder. Method: 50 adolescents aged 13-18 years with a medical diagnosis of dissociative disorder were included. A convenient sampling technique was used to recruit the patients from a child guidance clinic of a tertiary care hospital. Child Dissociative Checklist (CDC), Children's Impact of Events Scale (CRIES -13), Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARD), and Youth self-Report (YSR from Child Behaviour Checklist) were administered. Results: The sample consisted of 62% females and 38% males. A significant relationship was found between dissociation and anxiety, panic disorder and separation anxiety disorder. CDC had a positive correlation with internalisation, externalisation and behaviour problems. Regression analysis showed that behavioural problems and PTSD (CRIES-13) as two significant predictors of anxiety. Although there was no significant difference between adolescents with childhood trauma and without it, still the presence of trauma emerged as a significant predictor of dissociative disorders. Conclusion: The findings indicated that dissociation had a significant association with childhood trauma, behaviour problems, anxiety and post-traumatic stress. Thus, culturally appropriate trauma-focused interventions for the treatment of mental illnesses and the underlying trauma should be designed for addressing dissociative disorders in this age group.

Examining the association of medical complications and posttraumatic stress symptoms in pediatric solid organ transplant patients and their caregivers.

Post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) have been reported by pediatric solid organ transplant (SOT) patients and their caregivers well after transplantation. This study examined the relationship between PTSS, medication adherence, and medical complications in SOT patients and their caregivers. A secondary aim examined the association between patient and caregiver-reported PTSS. Pediatric SOT patients (N=69) and caregivers (N=73) reported on PTSS by completing the Child PTSD Symptom Scale (patients 8-17years) or the Impact of Events Scale-Revised (patients 18years and older and caregivers). Patient medication adherence was assessed using the Medication Level Variability Index (MLVI). Patients were dichotomized as experiencing a post-transplant medical complication (ie, transplant-related hospital admission prior to the year completing measures of PTSS) or no complications. Medication adherence was not significantly associated with patient or caregiver PTSS. A moderate effect size was found for elevated young adult and caregiver PTSS and the presence of a medical complication. Generally, the association between self-reported patient and caregiver PTSS was low. The presence of elevated PTSS in young adult patients may be partially explained by the presence of proximal medical complications and more so by comorbid psychiatric diagnoses in child and adolescent patients (based on exploratory analyses). Caregivers of patients with medical complications within the past year reported higher levels of PTSS. Overall, transplantation and its associated impact on PTSS may be unique experience for patients versus caregivers. Qualitative research may further elucidate these experiences and inform future clinical interventions.

Group Counseling for Southeast Asian Refugee Children with Trauma Symptoms: Pilot Study Results and Practical Guidelines

ABSTRACT Southeast Asian (SEA) refugee children tend to have numerous mental health problems such as trauma symptoms, depression, and low self-esteem. Yet, many SEA refugee children do not receive the counseling help they need due to barriers such as access and limited resources. One counseling intervention that overcomes these barriers is Cognitive Behavioral Interventions for Trauma in Schools (CBITS). In this article, the authors identify the unique needs of SEA refugee children and describe a pilot study of implementing CBITS with 20 SEA refugee children, who were primarily from the Myanmar Chin population. Research questions were (1) is there a significant difference between the Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS) pretest and posttest measures of SEA refugee children’s trauma symptoms after they receive CBITS, and (2) what are guidelines for counselors implementing CBITS with SEA refugee children. The study method was a one group pretest–posttest research design with a convenience sample. Results were based on a paired samples t-test of CPPS pretest and posttest scores. Results showed statistically significant reductions in participants’ trauma symptoms as well as clinically significant reductions with a large effect size. The authors discuss practical guidelines for implementing CBITS with SEA refugee children including increasing awareness of the specific SEA subculture, not requiring identification of a specific traumatic event, recognizing vicarious learning from children to parents, and providing social justice advocacy for SEA refugee children.

Child maltreatment, cognitive functions and the mediating role of mental health problems among maltreated children and adolescents in Uganda

BackgroundChild maltreatment poses high risks to the mental health and cognitive functioning of children not only in childhood but also in later life. However, it remains unclear whether child maltreatment is directly associated with impaired cognitive functioning or whether this link is mediated by mental health problems. Our study aimed at examining this research question among children and adolescents in Uganda.MethodsA sample of 232 school-going children and adolescents with a mean age of 14.03 (SD = 3.25) was assessed on multiple forms of maltreatment using the Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology Exposure—Pediatric Version (pediMACE). Executive functions were assessed by the Tower of London task and working memory by the Corsi Block Tapping task, while mental health problems were assessed using the Child PTSD Symptom Scale for PTSD and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC).ResultsIn total, 232 (100%) of the participant reported to have experienced at least one type of maltreatment in their lifetime including emotional, physical, and sexual violence as well as neglect. We found a negative association between child maltreatment and executive functions (β = − 0.487, p < 0.001) and working memory (β = − 0.242, p = 0.001). Mental health problems did not mediate this relationship.ConclusionsChild maltreatment seems to be related to lower working memory and executive functioning of affected children and adolescents even after controlling for potential cofounders. Our study indicates that child maltreatment the affects children’s cognitive functionality beyond health and well-being.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Caregiver Version of the Child PTSD Symptom Scale in a Recently Immigrated, Spanish Speaking Population

In recent years, there has been a large increase in the number of youth and families emigrating from Central America to the United States to escape extreme violence and crime victimization. As a result, the rate of trauma-exposure and trauma-related distress among this population is alarmingly high and necessitates representation of this population in psychological research, particularly related to trauma symptom measurement. The broad aim of the current study was to examine the psychometric performance of caregiver-reported data on one such instrument intended to measure youth trauma symptoms. Specifically, we sought to document the psychometric performance of the Child PTSD Symptoms Scale (CPSS) with recently immigrated Spanish-Speaking youth and caregivers from Central America by examining the convergent, divergent, and concurrent validity of the caregiver-report form. Overall, the measure showed psychometric promise as it broadly demonstrated adequate concurrent and convergent. Results also suggested that further research is needed to better understand how to reduce the comorbidity that is often depicted in caregiver reports, which can lead to poor discriminant validity. Regardless, current findings suggest the appropriateness of incorporating caregiver reports of youth trauma in Spanish-speaking, recently immigrated youth.

The Association between Child and Parent Psychiatric Disorders in Families Exposed to Flood and/or Dioxin.

Associations of disaster mental health sequelae between children and their parents have been demonstrated, but not using full diagnostic assessment. This study examined children and their parents after a series of disasters in 1982 to investigate associations of their psychiatric outcomes. Members of 169 families exposed to floods and/or dioxin or no disaster were assessed in 1986–1987 with structured diagnostic interviews. This vintage dataset collected several decades ago provides new information to this field because of the methodological rigor that is unparalleled in this literature. Disaster-related PTSD and incident postdisaster disorders in children were associated, respectively with disaster-related PTSD and incident postdisaster disorders in the chief caregiver and mother. More flood-only than dioxin-only exposed parents reported great harm by the disaster, but neither children nor parents in these two groups differed in incident psychiatric disorders. Although this study did not determine the direction of causal influences, its findings suggest that clinicians working with disaster-exposed families should work with children and adult members together, as their mental health outcomes may be intertwined.

Population Prevalence of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Subtype for Young Children in Nationwide Surveys of the British General Population and of Children in Care

ObjectivePosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating condition that when left untreated can have severe lifelong consequences for psychological, social, and occupational functioning. Initial conceptualizations of PTSD were centered on adult presentations. However, the instantiation of developmentally appropriate PTSD in young children (PTSD-YC) criteria, tailored to preschool (6 years old and younger) children, represents an important step toward identifying more young children experiencing distress. This study explored population-level prevalence of PTSD-YC indexed via an alternative algorithm for DSM-IV PTSD (AA-PTSD). MethodRepresentative population data were used to test whether application of AA-PTSD criteria, relative to the DSM-IV PTSD algorithm, increased identification of 5- to 6-year-old children with clinical needs in both the general population (n = 3,202) and among looked after children (ie, in Britain, foster children are called looked after children [more commonly referred to as children in care].) (n = 137), in whom the risk of mental health issues is greater. ResultsNotably, no 5- to 6-year-old children in the general population sample were diagnosed with PTSD using adult-based DSM-IV criteria. In contrast, AA-PTSD prevalence was 0.4% overall, rising to 5.4% in trauma-exposed children. In looked after children, overall PTSD prevalence rose from 1.2% when applying adult-based DSM-IV criteria to 14% when using AA-PTSD criteria. Of trauma-exposed looked after children, 2.7% met criteria for DSM-IV PTSD compared with 57.0% when applying AA-PTSD criteria. In both samples, use of the alternative algorithm to index PTSD-YC criteria markedly increased identification of children experiencing functional impairment owing to symptoms. ConclusionResults demonstrate the utility of the PTSD-YC diagnosis beyond at-risk and treatment-seeking samples. Use of PTSD-YC criteria substantially improves identification of 5- to 6-year-old children burdened by PTSD at the population level.

A Longitudinal Investigation of Children\u2019s Trauma Memory Characteristics and Their Relationship with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms

While trauma memory characteristics are considered a core predictor of adult PTSD, the literature on child PTSD is limited and inconsistent. We investigated whether children’s trauma memory characteristics predict their posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) at 1 month and 6 months post-trauma. We recruited 126 6–13 year olds who experienced a single-incident trauma that led to attendance at an emergency department. We assessed trauma memory disorganisation and sensory-emotional qualities through both narrative recall and self-report questionnaire, and PTSS at 1-month post-trauma and at 6-month follow-up. We found that, after controlling for age, children’s self-reported trauma memory characteristics were positively associated with their concurrent PTSS, and longitudinally predicted symptoms 6-months later. However, observable trauma memory characteristics coded from children’s narratives were not related to PTSS at any time. This suggests that children’s perceptions of their trauma memories are a more reliable predictor of the development and maintenance of PTSS than the nature of their trauma narrative, which has important implications for clinical practice.

Investigation of the mental health status of frontier-line and non-frontier-line medical staff during a stress period

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic has become a global public health event. Medical staff around the world are nervously responding to the crisis, and their mental health problems deserve attention. To better know the differences in the mental health status between frontier-line and non-frontier-line medical staff. This study used the Child PTSD Symptom Scale, the Self-Rating Depression Scale, the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale to examine the PTSD, depression, anxiety and resilience among 162 frontier-line medical workers and 163 non-frontier-line medical workers in China. The results showed that all negative factor scores of non-frontier-line medical staff seemed to be worse than those of frontier-line medical staff, and the positive factor scores were the opposite through descriptive analysis, independent sample t-test and Chi-square test. Some psychological effects and theories were used to explain this phenomenon. Intervention suggestions for medical staff and future research directions were discussed.

Male intimate partner violence: Examining the roles of childhood trauma, PTSD symptoms, and dominance.

One approach to understanding perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) by men focuses upon their childhood exposure to abuse or neglect as traumatic experiences, which may lead to PTSD symptoms; these symptoms can serve as risk factors for IPV perpetration. Another approach looks at the societal aspects of inequality between men and women as promoting male dominance over women and leading to IPV. The aim of the current study was to incorporate elements of each approach based on social learning theory through examining the role of dominance as a mediator between early childhood trauma, PTSD symptoms, and IPV perpetration severity. Participants consisted of 234 men drawn randomly from those receiving treatment at 66 domestic violence centers throughout Israel. They completed versions of the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale for IPV and Conflict Tactics Scale Parent-Child for history of family exposure to violence and physical neglect, the International Trauma Questionnaire for PTSD, and the Dominance Scale. The results indicated an indirect association between physical neglect in childhood and psychological, physical IPV severity, via PTSD and dominance. The results suggest a more integrated way of conceptualizing trauma, PTSD, and power and control issues for the perpetration of IPV. In addition, they emphasize the need to develop trauma-informed interventions that focus on dominance alongside other important trauma-relevant core themes that increase risk for IPV. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Posttraumatic Symptoms in 3\u20137 Year Old Trauma-Exposed Children: Links to Impairment, Other Mental Health Symptoms, Caregiver PTSD, and Caregiver Stress

Few studies have examined how PTSD symptoms in young children are associated with other mental health symptoms and mood and functioning in caregivers. This is an important gap in the literature as such knowledge may be important for assessment and treatment. This study used network analysis to identify how the major symptom domains of PTSD in young trauma-exposed children were related to impairment, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, caregiver PTSD, and caregiver stress. Caregivers of 75 trauma-exposed 3–7 year old children reported on their child’s symptoms and impairment and their own PTSD symptoms and caregiver stress. A strong association between the child PTSD domains of intrusions and avoidance emerged, which is in line with theoretical notions of how PTSD onsets and is maintained in adolescents and adults. Externalizing child symptoms were strongly linked to PTSD-related impairment and caregiver stress, highlighting the need to carefully assess and address such symptoms when working with young trauma-exposed children. Internalizing symptoms were uniquely associated with all three of the major childhood PTSD symptom domains with further implications for assessment and treatment.

Estimation of the Development of Depression and PTSD in Children Exposed to Sexual Abuse and Development of Decision Support Systems by Using Artificial Intelligence

ABSTRACT The most common diagnoses after childhood sexual abuse are Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression. The aim of this study is to design a decision support system to help psychiatry physicians in the treatment of childhood sexual abuse. Computer aided decision support system (CADSS) based on ANN, which predicts the development of PTSD and Major Depressive Disorder, using different parameters of the act of abuse and patients was designed. The data of 149 girls and 21 boys who were victims of sexual abuse were included in the study. In the designed CADDS, the gender of the victim, the type of sexual abuse, the age of exposure, the duration until reporting, the time of abuse, the proximity of the abuser to the victim, number of sexual abuse, whether the child is exposed to threats and violence during the abuse, the person who reported the event, and the intelligence level of the victim are used as input parameters. The average accuracy values for all three designed systems were calculated as 99.2%. It has been shown that the system designed by using these data can be used safely in the psychiatric assessment process, in order to differentiate psychiatric diagnoses in the early post-abuse period.