Posttraumatic stress disorder in maltreated youth: a review of contemporary research and thought

The study of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in maltreated youth has received increased attention, though extensive comparisons to maltreated youth without PTSD and administrations of anxiety-based structured diagnostic interviews remain needed. We examined maltreated youth with or without PTSD using structured diag-nostic interviews and standardized child self-report measures. We hypothesized that maltreated youth with PTSD, compared to their peers without PTSD, would experi-ence significantly greater duration of abuse, diagnostic comorbidity, PTSD sympto-matology, dysfunctional family environment, and avoidant coping styles. Results indicated that the group with PTSD did indeed experience significantly greater dura-tion of abuse, diagnostic comorbidity, and PTSD symptomatology, though less so dysfunctional family environment or avoidant coping styles. The presence of a mood or anxiety disorder was highly predictive of PTSD in this sample. Results are dis-cussed within the context of evolving etiological and maintenance models of PTSD in maltreated youth