PTSD in children

When I think of childhood and adolescent trauma, two major tragic events come to my mind: First, the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting event and second, the 9/11 incident. I can’t even imagine the trauma young children would have faced when the Sandy Hook elementary shooting took place. 9/11 was a traumatic event for adults and for children who lost parents, loved ones or were affected in indirect ways. I would like to base my discussion around these two incidents and the kind of traumas faced by children involved.

The kind of Post Trauma Stress Disorder (PTSD) I will discuss is one following a single event trauma and then the trauma of death of a parent. The events mentioned above did take place in United States, but PTSD among children is a global issue as reported by Ann Mccloskey & Walker (2000). They conducted a study to understand the development of PTSD among children as a result of repetitive traumatic events or a single traumatic event. Their results showed a significant number of children showing signs of PTSD and concluded that type 1 or type of traumatic events can cause PTSD among children irrespective of surroundings or location. Elahi et al (2009) studied the development of PTSD in children and adolescents when comparing groups who faced one single worse trauma to those who faced 2, 3 or 4 times trauma in their lives. Their study did not find a difference in the development of PTSD risks and found almost same number of cases among all four groups.

Stoppelbein & Greening (2000) studied PTSD symptoms among children bereaved by parental death and in a non trauma group as well. They concluded that children who had been bereaved by the death of a parent had more PTSD symptoms than non trauma or disaster experienced kids. Their results also showed that when the surviving parent suffered from PTSD the children were at a higher risk of developing PTSD as well. Single trauma events are like bombing or incidents like 9/11 can have effects similar to PTSD on young people.

Pfefferbaum et al (1999) studied psychological symptoms among high school and middle school students who were exposed to the Oklahoma City bombing across a range of losses and fears. Their results showed PTSD risks among the students and the impact of media had a strong connection to the youth’s reactions. Some researchers consider experiences of refugee children equivalent to trauma and report PTSD high at risk for this group of children. Heptinstall et al (2004) report that refugee children develop PTSD symptoms like depression and mental disorders, mostly post migration with signs of PTSD showing even in adulthood.

As mentioned earlier PTSD among children who lose a parent is more common if the surviving parent also suffers from PTSD. One strategy that maybe effective in an intervention aimed at helping children who experienced death of a parent would be to provide support to the surviving parent. If the surviving parent is equipped with effective coping strategies then he/ she may be able to overcome their PTSD. This will then have a strong impact on the child, adolescent in the form of parental support.

 ‘Time is the biggest healer’ and timing crucial when dealing with PTSD in children. Children go through phases of mental and physical growth more rapidly than adults. Their lives are changing at a faster speed as well with changes in peer pressures, physical changes and psychological needs from each parent. Sometimes children may not show signs of PTSD or develop PTSD until a long time after the trauma. For example if a young girl lost her mother then she may not felt her absence to an extreme until she reaches puberty or gets ready for dating. She may need her mother’s companionship more in teenage than as a little girl.

                                                            References

Ann McCloskey, Laura & Walker, M. (2000). Posttraumatic stress in children exposed to family violence and single-event trauma. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 39(1), 108-115.

Elhai, J. D., Engdahl, R. M., Palmieri, P. A., Naifeh, J. A., Schweinle, A., & Jacobs, G. A. (2009). Assessing posttraumatic stress disorder with or without reference to a single, worst traumatic event: Examining differences in factor structure. Psychological Assessment, 21(4), 629.

Heptinstall, E., Sethna, V., & Taylor, E. (2004). PTSD and depression in refugee children. European child & adolescent psychiatry, 13(6), 373-380.

Pfefferbaum, B., Nixon, S. J., Tucker, P. M., Tivis, R. D., Moore, V. L., Gurwitch, R. H.& Geis, H. K. (1999). Posttraumatic stress responses in bereaved children after the Oklahoma City bombing. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(11), 1372-1379.

Stoppelbein, L., & Greening, L. (2000). Posttraumatic stress symptoms in parentally bereaved children and adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 39(9), 1112-1119.