Rates of Trauma Exposure, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Depressive, and Anxiety Symptoms in Primary School Children: Findings Six Months before Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Studies on mental health rates among primary school children are still limited particularly related to psychological trauma and its relationship to other mental health challenges. This is the first cross-sectional study examining the rates of trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive, and anxiety symptoms in primary school children before covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia. Two hundred and twenty-one students participated in this study. They were recruited from four primary schools that volunteered to participate in the study. PTSD) Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), Child PTSD Symptoms Scale-5 (CPSS-5), The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale version (CESD) and the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) were used to survey psychological symptoms. Most of the students, or 54.3% of them, have experienced at least one traumatic event. Of 221 students, 39.4% reported having PTSD symptoms, 38% reported having depressive symptoms and 19% reported having anxiety symptoms. Female students were more likely to report PTSD symptoms compared to male students. The first regression analysis model showed that only depressive symptoms were significant predictors for PTSD. In the second model, religion, family income, anxiety and PTSD symptoms were significant predictors of depressive symptoms. In the third model, only depressive symptoms were significant predictors of anxiety. Findings, limitations, research future directions and recommendations were discussed.