Posttraumatic stress in youth experiencing illnesses and injuries: An exploratory meta-analysis.

Abstract

To date there is no quantitative review of predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in youth experiencing illnesses or injuries. This article presents a meta-analysis of variables associated with the development of PTSD among those youth. Twenty-six studies were included: 18 involving children experiencing injuries and 8 with pediatric illnesses. Among injured youth, socioeconomic status and social impairment were small to moderate correlates of PTSD, whereas depressive and anxious symptoms, dissociation, acute stress disorder, and the appraisal of trauma severity and life threat displayed large effect sizes with PTSD severity. Among ill youth, social support and the appraisal of illness severity and life threat emerged as small to moderate predictors of posttraumatic symptoms. The current findings are exploratory in nature, as a primary limitation of the current study includes the limited number of independent studies that have evaluated these predictors. Current findings further our understanding of PTSD through exploration of possible indicators of at-risk youth who have experienced illness and injury.

Nurses' Views and Current Practice of Trauma-Informed Pediatric Nursing Care

“…In a meta-analysis, the proportion of injured children experiencing significant symptoms of posttraumatic stress (PTS) was 19% (Kahana, Feeny, Youngstrom, & Drotar, 2006). PTS symptoms have been observed across injury mechanisms and types; e.g., traffic crashes (Kassam-Adams & Winston, 2004;Stallard, Salter, & Velleman, 2004), violent injury (Fein et al, 2002), burns (Saxe, Stoddard, & Sheridan, 1998;Saxe et al, 2005), and orthopedic injuries (Stancin et al, 2001).…”

Knowledge and training in paediatric medical traumatic stress and trauma-informed care among emergency medical professionals in low- and middle-income countries

“…While such training should be adapted to the local context there is evidence for the applicability of interventions, developed in Western systems, for posttraumatic stress and related disorders being successfully implemented in culturally diverse LMIC settings following disasters (Kahana, Feeny, Youngstrom, & Drotar, 2006; Schnyder et al, 2016). Patel et al (2007) describes the process of cultural adaptation of mental health interventions for LMICs through consultation with key stakeholders, piloting of the revised programme and an understanding of the feasibility and sustainability of the intervention.…”

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) in children and adolescents with subthreshold PTSD after medically related trauma: design of a randomized controlled trial

“…In general, the presence of impairing posttraumatic stress symptoms that do not meet the full diagnostic criteria for PTSD is referred to as subthreshold PTSD (McLaughlin et al, 2015). About 25–38% of children develop subthreshold PTSD after illness or injury (Kahana, Feeny, Youngstrom, & Drotar, 2006). Despite growing evidence for the negative impact of medically related trauma on child development, it has received less scientific attention than other forms of childhood trauma, such as physical or sexual abuse (Daviss et al, 2000; Pinquart, 2018).…”