title: A meta-analysis of risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents.
abstract: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex and chronic disorder that causes substantial distress and interferes with social and educational functioning. Consequently, identifying the risk factors that make a child more likely to experience traumatic distress is of academic, clinical and social importance. This meta-analysis estimated the population effect sizes of 25 potential risk factors for PTSD in children and adolescents aged 6-18 years across 64 studies (N=32,238). Medium to large effect sizes were shown for many factors relating to subjective experience of the event and post-trauma variables (low social support, peri-trauma fear, perceived life threat, social withdrawal, comorbid psychological problem, poor family functioning, distraction, PTSD at time 1, and thought suppression); whereas pre-trauma variables and more objective measures of the assumed severity of the event generated small to medium effect sizes. This indicates that subjective peri-trauma factors and post-event factors are likely to have a major role in determining whether a child develops PTSD following exposure to a traumatic event. Such factors could potentially be assessed following a potentially traumatic event in order to screen for those most vulnerable to developing PTSD and target treatment efforts accordingly. The findings support the cognitive model of PTSD as a way of understanding its development and guiding interventions to reduce symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Child Bereavement & Trauma Service (CHUMS Social Enterprise CIC, NHS Approved Provider), UK. mail@davidtrickey.com
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Trickey
authors.forename: Andy P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Siddaway
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Meiser-Stedman
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Serpell
authors.forename: Andy P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Field
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology