An Experimental Analysis of Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Among Adolescents

Saigh, Philip A.

doi:10.1080/00221325.1985.9923455

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Despite the consistency between the observed results and the results that were reported by Bourne (1970), Kettner (1978), Rachman (1978), and Saigh (1984a, 1984b, 1985a, 1985b, a number of considerations are apparent. More specifically, this report is indicative of a naturalistic study and the effects of history, maturation and testing were not controlled.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

Anxiety, depression, and assertion across alternating intervals of stress.

Saigh¹

1988

Journal of Abnormal Psychology

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The course of self-reported anxiety, depression, and assertion was charted 63 days before 12 students were exposed to a significant war-related stressor as well as 8, 37, and 316 days later. Although the majority of respondents reported higher levels of anxiety and depression as well as lower levels of assertion 8 days after the trauma, the estimates observed 37 and 316 days after the trauma were not significantly different than the estimates observed 63 days before the trauma. A single-case analysis as well as a series of diagnostic interviews revealed, however, that one of the students developed chronic posttraumatic stress disorder. The results are examined from an epidemiological and etiological perspective.According to the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III, 1980), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is indicated by the "development of characteristic symptoms following a psychological traumatic event that is generally outside the range of usual human experience" (APA, 1980, p. 236). These symptoms involve high levels of anxiety, repeated thoughts about the trauma, blunted affect, and a number of discrete responses such as exaggerated startle responses, avoidance behavior, and memory impairment. The DSM-I11 also indicates that "the disorder is apparently more severe and longer lasting when the stressor is of human design" (APA, 1980, p. 236). Finally, the DSM-III subdivides PTSD into two categories (viz,, acute and chronic). The former category is indicated when "symptoms begin within six months of the trauma and have not lasted six months" (APA, 1980, p. 237), whereas the latter category is warranted "if the symptoms either developed more than six months after the trauma or last six months or more" (APA, 1980, p. 237).From an epidemiological perspective, it is interesting to note that despite the abundance of war-related stress studies (Babinski & Fromet, 1918;Bourne, 1970;Glass, 1954;Lewis, 1942;Richards, 1910), epidemiologists have failed to reach a consensus about the prevalence of the disorder. Within this context, Rachman's (1978) salient analysis of the British psychiatric literature that was published during World War II clearly concluded that "the great majority of people endured the air raids extraordinarily well, contrary to the universal expectation of mass panic. Exposure to repeated bombings did not produce a significant increase in psychiatric disorder. Although short lived fear reactions were common, surprisingly few persistent phobic reactions emerged" (p. 182).In a similar vein, Kettner (1972) analyzed the service records of 1,086 Swedish United Nations (UN) troops who saw action in the Congo (now Zaire) during 1961 and observed that only 35 soldiers succumbed to "combat exhaustion.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

Anxiety, depression, and assertion across alternating intervals of stress.

Saigh¹

1988

Journal of Abnormal Psychology

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“…Department of Justice, 1985). Although information pertaining to the incidence of PTSD following exposure to puissant stressors varies (Saigh, 1984, 1985c), PTSD cases are evident in American schools (Pynoos & Eth, 1985). In view of this and the modicum of information pertaining to the assessment and treatment of childhood PTSD, it is felt that the call to pursue the search for a validated treatment of choice is in keeping with the interests of the profession.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It should be noted in this regard that 1,237,980 violent crimes (i.e., murder, aggravated assault, rape, and arson) were reported in the United States during 1984, and that approximately 29% of the victims of these crimes were below the age of 19 (U.S. Department of Justice, 1985). Although information pertaining to the incidence of PTSD following exposure to puissant stressors varies (Saigh, 1984(Saigh, , 1985c, PTSD cases are evident in American schools (Pynoos & Eth, 1985). In view of this and the modicum of information pertaining to the assessment and treatment of childhood PTSD, it is felt that the call to pursue the search for a validated treatment of choice is in keeping with the interests of the profession.…”

Section: Cognitive Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

In vitro flooding of childhood posttraumatic stress disorders: A systematic replication.

Saigh¹

1987

Professional School Psychology

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An in vitro flooding package was used to treat the posttraumatic stress disorders of three children. Traumatic scenes were identified and stimulus-response imagery cues were provided according to a multiple baseline design. The outcome data revealed positive changes on the children's affective, behavioral, and cognitive parameters. The relevance of the flooding modality is considered from within the scope of the practical needs of school psychology.According to the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III; APA, 1980) posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD) are precipitated by a distinct stressor that is "generally outside the range of usual human experience" and of sufficient intensity as to "invoke significant symptoms of distress from almost everyone" (p. 238). These symptoms are characterized by high levels of anxiety, unwanted recollections of the trauma, blunted affect, avoidance behaviors, and a number of disparate symptoms (e.g., concentration and memory impairment, survival guilt, and startle response). The DSM-IIIalso stipulates that symptoms of depression as well as "sporadic and unpredictable explosions of aggressive behavior" may be evident and that "the disorder can occur at any age including childhood" (APA, 1980, p. 237). Within this context, children have developed PTSD after being abducted (Terr, 1983), physically abused (Blank & Dicker son, 1982), attacked by animals (Gislason & Call, 1982), raped (Kilpatrick, Veronen, & Best, 1985), or exposed to nuclear accidents (Collins, Baum, & Singer, 1983).Examined from a behavioral paradigm, five single-case investigations used in vitro flooding (i.e., a behavioral treatment based on the principal of extinction and involving prolonged imaginal exposures to highly aversive stimuli) (O' Leary & Wilson, 1987) to treat circumscribed PTSD cases. Three of these reports (Fairbank, Gross, & Keane, 1983;Fairbank & Keane, 1982;Keane & Kaloupek, 1982) involved the treatment of American combat veterans. The fourth and fifth reports (Saigh, 1985a, in press) are more germane to the practice of school psychology inasmuch as they involved the treatment of traumatized students. Within this context, Saigh's reports used multiplecomponent behavioral assessments (i.e., behavioral avoidance tests, self-reported measures of anxiety and depression, and self-monitored frequencies of traumatic ideation) as well as measures of concentration and memory impairment to assess the varied symptomotology of PTSD before, during, and after in vitro flooding. The results clearly Requests for reprints should be sent to

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“…The Revised Fear Survey Schedule for Children (FSSC-R) is narrowly focused on phobic symptoms and, consequently, is not a helpful instrument for reviewing a wide range of anxiety disorders. However, the fears of children constitute an important (Handford et al, 1986), Lebanese (Saigh, 1989), Bosnian-Serb (Papageorgiou et al, 2000) and Bosnian (Smith et al, 2001) children exposed to war, British adolescent survivors of a cruise-ship sinking (Yule, Udwin and Murdoch, 1990;Yule, 1992), and US children exposed to Hurricanes Hugo Shannon et al, 1994) and Iniki (Chemtob, Nakashima and Carlson, 2002) and the Northridge earthquake (Asarnow et al, 1999) State and Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAI-C) (Spielberger, Gorsuch and Lushene, 1968) To gauge anxiety symptoms in children Limited: Lebanese adolescents exposed to war (Saigh, 1985) and French children evacuated after an industrial accident (Vila et al, 2001) Revised Limited: Lebanese adolescents exposed to war (Saigh, 1985) and British adolescent survivors of a cruise-ship sinking (Yule, Udwin and Murdoch, 1990;Yule, 1992) analytical area in determining their post-disaster functioning, so the FSSC-R could be used in conjunction with other assessment instruments if time and resources allow. This point is discussed in more depth in the conclusion.…”

Section: Anxiety Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological Assessment of Children in Disasters and Emergencies

Balaban¹

2006

Disasters

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Children and adolescents are among the most vulnerable members of communities affected by disasters and emergencies. There is a tremendous need for a systematic post-disaster psychological assessment of children and adolescents in order to understand better post-traumatic symptomatology in children and to identify populations that require an early intervention. This article reviews psychological instruments that are suitable for screening children and adolescents in emergency and disaster contexts for four different types of post-traumatic responses: post-traumatic stress disorder; depression; anxiety disorders; and behavioural disorders. A description of each instrument and psychometric data are provided, along with recommendations on the most appropriate instruments to be utilised in different emergency environments and a summary of previous post-disaster evaluations that have used each type. In addition to selecting apposite instruments, other important issues that should be taken into account when conducting post-emergency mental health needs appraisals of children and adolescents are discussed.

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An Experimental Analysis of Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Among Adolescents

Cited by 7 publications

References 14 publications

Anxiety, depression, and assertion across alternating intervals of stress.

Anxiety, depression, and assertion across alternating intervals of stress.

In vitro flooding of childhood posttraumatic stress disorders: A systematic replication.

Psychological Assessment of Children in Disasters and Emergencies

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