Researchers identify factors that cause PTSD in traumatized youth

Some children survive relatively unscathed from traumatic events, whether it's a routine car accident or a life-altering school shooting. Others may struggle with it for years. Others may have to battle post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or worse, before they recover. But what factors tip the scales in one direction or another?

A group of British researchers claims to have uncovered some answers. At least they Psychological effects of trauma on young peoplethey focus on cognitive factors and claim that they can predict the likelihood of developing these conditions.

“Some children and adolescents who experience traumatic events, such as car accidents or violence, may develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other conditions such as anxiety and depression.” says the co-author. katie lofthousewith the University of East Anglia norwich medical schoolsaid in a press release. “But we don't understand why children have some challenges but not others.

amazing results

Researchers studied children and adolescents exposed to a single traumatic event. They found that most young people are surprisingly resilient after surviving trauma. By nine weeks after the trauma, nearly two-thirds (64%) of participants did not meet diagnostic criteria for a psychiatric disorder.

But the rest didn't work.

• Almost a quarter (23.5%) of study participants had PTSD.
• 5.2% met criteria for CPTSD.
• 23.9% had clinically significant depression.
• Additionally, 10.7% showed signs of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

The researchers wanted to isolate and identify the most powerful predictive models for these outcomes. They tested cognitive and psychosocial models, as well as subjective and objective measures of trauma severity. The cognitive model is ehlers and clarks PTSD theory has emerged as the most powerful tool for predicting PTSD, complex PTSD (CPTSD), depression, and anxiety in young trauma survivors.

PTSD: Is it all subjective?

In particular, subjective markers of trauma severity (such as perceived threat or fear during the event) were found to be more relevant than objective measures such as the extent of physical injury.

The findings highlight the complex impact trauma has on the mental health of young survivors. Although PTSD and CPTSD are related, their predictors appear to be different.

For example, researchers found a strong association between the quality of traumatic memories and rumination and PTSD. Yet, these same factors appeared to have less influence on the development of CPTSD, with self-blame emerging as a more reliable indicator.

This study highlighted the importance of subjective experience during traumatic events. Feelings of fear, panic, and dissociation at the time of trauma proved to be better predictors of subsequent mental health problems than more objective indicators such as the severity of physical injury. This suggests that the child's emotional experience of the event is important in determining the psychological outcome.

Of note, this study found that although often considered to be a major factor in PTSD, the perception of life being at risk was significantly associated with the onset of the disorder in this sample. It turns out there isn't.

Psychosocial factors such as past trauma and social support also played a role, but they were generally weaker predictors than cognitive and subjective event-related factors. For example, social support can help prevent the development of CPTSD and depression to some extent, but it does not significantly impact PTSD outcomes.

draw a conclusion

These results seem to suggest that children exposed to trauma are at risk for developing more than just PTSD. Trauma usually exposes people to other underlying psychological conditions such as depression and GAD. These disorders showed clear overlap. And cognitive factors played an important role in every situation.

For example, young people who interpreted traumatic events in overly negative terms were more likely to develop both PTSD and depression. However, certain cognitive processes were more specific to individual disorders. This study showed a strong association between rumination and PTSD. However, the authors found no such association with depression, which appeared to be associated with mood-specific ratings.

The findings of this study support the use of cognitive interventions for trauma-exposed youth. The authors found that cognitive factors are important across PTSD, CPTSD, depression, and anxiety, so treatments that focus on reappraisal of trauma-related beliefs may be a more effective treatment approach. There is. cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) – an already popular approach – may also prove beneficial for children coping with other trauma-related illnesses.

Rethinking approaches to PTSD in youth

This study highlights the need for a more nuanced approach to assessing children's mental health after trauma. Researchers have found that interventions that target cognitive processes, such as rethinking how children interpret their traumatic experiences, may be more effective at reducing the risk of PTSD, CPTSD, depression, and anxiety. This suggests that it may be the case.

Additionally, paying more attention to children's subjective experiences during trauma could help clinicians more accurately predict which children are most at risk of developing long-term problems. .

This study answers several questions about single-event trauma and how it shaped the mental health of young survivors. We also provide some evidence that cognitive models may serve as a reliable basis for predicting and treating trauma-related disorders in children and adolescents.

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