Validation of the Diagnostic Infant and Preschool Assessment in a Danish, trauma-exposed sample of young children

Vangsgaard

Olsen

et al. 2019

IJERPH

Self Cite

There is a lack of research examining secondary stalking and its effect on children who, in many cases, can be direct targets, or secondary survivors, of the stalking of their parent. The present study examines trauma reactions in children of stalking survivors in a Danish sample. It investigates the differences and similarities of such reactions across three age groups. Fifty-seven children were divided into groups depending on their age. The symptoms of the youngest group, 0–6-year-olds, were investigated by way of a maternal diagnostic interview. The two older groups, 7–11- and 12–19-year-olds completed the age-appropriate questionnaires, “Darryl” and “HTQ”, respectively, online. Twenty-two percent of the youngest group met the criteria for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Eighty-five percent of the middle age group and 58% of the older age group met PTSD diagnostic criteria. The findings illustrate that reactions to secondary stalking were predominantly within the arousal cluster of PTSD symptomology, with sleep disturbances and irritability commonly reported. The overall prevalence of children meeting PTSD diagnostic criteria in the sample was 56%. Future studies will benefit from larger samples and from knowledge of any pre-existing relationship between parent and stalker.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms in Secondary Stalked Children of Danish Stalking Survivors—A Pilot Study

Vangsgaard

Olsen

et al. 2019

IJERPH

Self Cite

“…Diagnostic algorithms for the three disorders were based on DSM-IV-TR ( 48 ) for children aged 7-8. For children aged 4-6 years, the developmentally modified diagnostic criteria, RDC-PA, were used ( 44 , 45 ). Summed continuous scores for each module were used for analyses.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For this study, three modules for PTSD, MDD, and RAD were used. The DIPA has been validated with American, Dutch, and Danish children aged 1-7 (44)(45)(46). Symptoms are scored "1" if present and "0" if not present.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and initial validation of the Odense Child Trauma Screening: a story stem screening tool for preschool and young schoolchildren

Løkkegaard

Elmose

Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology

2021

Self Cite

Background: Early identification of young children exposed to trauma who are at risk of developing post-trauma symptomatology such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other emotional or behavioral problems is important for allocating appropriate treatment and preventing long-term consequences. However, assessment of young children exposed to trauma is challenging because children may not be able to talk about their trauma or trauma reactions. Story stem tools combine storytelling and play to access the internal world of young children and can be used in the assessment of children exposed to trauma. Objective: To examine reliability and validity of a new story stem tool, the Odense Child Trauma Screening (OCTS). OCTS was developed to screen for play-based behavior and narrative representations indicative of traumatization in preschool and young schoolchildren. Method: Forty-nine Danish children aged 4.5–8.9 years (M = 6.6, SD = 1.2) participated in the OCTS. Participants included a risk sample of 31 children exposed to traumas and a community sample of 18 children. Caregivers were interviewed about child symptoms of PTSD, major depressive disorder (MDD), and reactive attachment disorder (RAD) and answered the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The community sample completed OCTS test-retests. Results: Interrater reliability proved excellent (ICC = .96-1.00). Test-retest reliability was acceptable (ICC = .66). Significant moderate correlations were found between the OCTS total score and scales of PTSD, MDD and RAD and the SDQ Total Difficulties Scale. The ability of the OCTS to discriminate between children from the risk and community sample was good. Conclusions: The study provided preliminary evidence of reliability and validity of the OCTS as a screening tool for young children exposed to trauma. OCTS shows promise as a standardized, age-appropriate informant-based screening measure applicable for clinical assessment.

“…The interview consists of 517 questions used to identify symptoms across 13 different psychiatric disorders. The interview is validated across different countries and has proved to be a sensitive tool when measuring psychiatric disorders in preschool children [46][47][48]. The PTSD section of the interview lists 11 possible traumatic events, which the parent answer on behalf of the child and, if more than one, rate the worst.…”

Section: Child Psychopathologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The criterion of a PTSD diagnosis is met if the child has one symptom of re-experiencing, three avoidance symptoms, two arousal symptoms, and one functional impairment symptom. A validated Danish version of DIPA was used in this study [47]. Diagnostic symptoms are based on the DSM-IV [49].…”

Section: Child Psychopathologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in children with severe epilepsy

Jakobsen

2021

Epilepsy & Behavior

Self Cite

Objectives: To assess symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children with severe epilepsy and the associations of trauma symptoms across age, comorbid symptoms, epilepsy-specific factors, parental resources, and psychopathology. Methods: Fifty children with severe epilepsy across three different age groups (0-5 yrs., 6-12 yrs., 13-18 yrs.) were assessed with developmental-sensitive and standardized PTSD assessment tools when hospitalized at the tertiary epilepsy center Filadelfia, Denmark. The Diagnostic Infant and Preschool Assessment (DIPA), the Darryl test, and the ITQ questionnaire were used to assess the three age groups, respectively. Results: Twenty-two percent of the overall sample met the criteria for PTSD, with a prevalence of symptoms increasing with age (6%, 28%, and 40%). Comorbid psychiatric symptoms in preschoolers were present in 81% of the children witnessing a high level of distress in this group. Behavioral difficulties were elevated across all three age groups, and 40% of the children with trauma symptoms had a parent with concurrent psychopathology. Conclusion:To the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to assess trauma symptoms with standardized tests in children with more complicated epilepsies. Trauma symptoms in the group are high; however, there is a need for larger scale studies and research into trauma symptoms in children with more severe epilepsy than those assessable with the included assessment tools. The trauma perspective in severe childhood epilepsy might further clarify the complex associations of biological and contextual variables that affect the children's life quality and enable better preventative treatment options for this group.