Life Threat and Posttraumatic Stress in School-age Children

Ten years after the genocide: Trauma confrontation and posttraumatic stress in Rwandan adolescents

“…Whereas some authors argue that younger children are at greater risk for development of posttraumatic stress reactions after exposure to trauma (Pynoos, 1994;Smith et al, 2002), others found greater PTSD vulnerability among older children (Keppel-Benson & Ollendick, 1993;Kilpatrick et al, 2003) or did not find any age differences (Dyregrov et al, 2000;Pynoos et al, 1987). The present study found a higher level of posttraumatic stress responses in the older group.…”

“…Other results, however, differ from those previously reported. Some previous studies did not identify gender as a significant risk factor for development of posttraumatic stress in children (Dyregrov et al, 2000;Pynoos et al, 1987;Thabet & Vostanis, 1999). In a Sri Lankan sample of children who had been exposed to combat and war, we found that the relationship was actually reversed .…”

“…Finally, research regarding age as a risk factor for the development of PTSD in children after traumatic events has offered differing conclusions: Some show that younger children are more affected (Pynoos, 1994;Smith et al, 2002); others argue that older children are more vulnerable (Keppel-Benson & Ollendick, 1993;Kilpatrick et al, 2003); yet others have found no clear age effects (Dyregrov et al, 2000;Pynoos et al, 1987). Pynoos (1994) argues that younger children are more vulnerable to the development of PTSD after trauma confrontation because of the disruption in their natural development; the earlier this disruption, the more severe the consequences for the developmental process.…”

Polymorphisms in FKBP5 are associated with peritraumatic dissociation in medically injured children

“…Children were interviewed in the hospital by a master's level psychologist about dissociation during the injury using the Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire (PDEQ) 3 and dissociation since the injury using the dissociation questions of the PTSD Reaction Index (PTSD-RI). 4 The distribution for both measures approximated normality. Injury severity score 5 was based on the surgeon's rating (M ¼ 9.23, SD ¼ 7.01, range 1-34).…”

Posttraumatic stress in children and adolescents exposed to family violence: I. Overview and issues.

“…Early examples of children's PTSD focused on sudden, out-of-the-ordinary catastrophic events such as sniper attack and natural disaster (Pynoos, et al, 1987); however, recent definitions of trauma stressors have expanded to include events within the range of normal experience that are capable of causing death, injury, or threaten the physical integrity of the child or a loved one (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry [AACAP], 1998; American Psychological Association [APA], 1994). Yet, children's violence exposure poses challenges to current understanding of PTSD: What if the violence exposure is life-long and there is not a discrete precipitating event?…”