title: Disqualified qualifiers: evaluating the utility of the revised DSM-5 definition of potentially traumatic events among area youth following the Boston marathon bombing.
abstract: The DSM-5 includes a revised definition of the experiences that qualify as potentially traumatic events. This revised definition now offers a clearer and more exclusive definition of what qualifies as a traumatic exposure, but little is known about the revision's applicability to youth populations. The present study evaluated the predictive utility of the revised DSM definitional boundaries of traumatic exposure in a sample of youth exposed to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and related events METHODS: Caregivers (N = 460) completed surveys 2 to 6 months postbombing about youth experiences during the events and youth posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms RESULTS: Experiencing DSM-5 qualifying traumatic events (DSM-5 QTEs) significantly predicted child PTS symptoms (PTSS), whereas DSM-5 nonqualifying stressful experiences (DSM-5 non-QSEs) did not after accounting for DSM-5 QTEs. Importantly, child age moderated the relationship between DSM-5 QTEs and PTSS such that children 7 and older who experienced DSM-5 QTEs showed greater postbombing PTSS, whereas there was no such relationship in children ages 6 and below CONCLUSIONS: Data largely support the revised posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) definition of QTEs in older youth, and also highlight the need for further refinement of the QTE definition for children ages 6 and below.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Mental Health Interventions and Technology (MINT) Program, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Tommy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CARD), Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Aubrey L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Carpenter
authors.affiliation: Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Caroline E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Kerns
authors.affiliation: Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CUCARD), Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: R Meredith
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Elkins
authors.affiliation: School of Education, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer Greif
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Mental Health Interventions and Technology (MINT) Program, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Comer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D054042:Bombs; D001900:Boston; D017028:Caregivers; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D023481:Terrorism / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: PTSD/posttraumatic stress disorder; assessment/diagnosis; child/adolescent; stress; trauma