Which Events Constitute Criteria A1 of PTSD? The Phenomenology of Psychological Trauma in Youth

The aim of this study was to explore the phenomenology of psychological trauma in youth. It was hypothesized that events reported as traumatic could be classified into one of seventeen trauma categories, that levels of impairment in traumatized youth would be higher than levels of impairment in non-traumatized youth, and that traumatic events reported would be differentially related to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms and types of cognitive errors. Information regarding traumas and PTSD symptoms was collected through The Child PTSD Checklist from a sample of youth aged 6 to 17. A coding system was developed for classification of traumatic events. The expression symptom and impairment levels were evaluated through parent and child report. The coding system had Cohen\u27s Kappas ranging from .78-1.00. Findings indicate that traumatized youth demonstrate higher levels of impairment than non-traumatized youth, and that traumatic events are not differentially related to PTSD symptoms or cognitive errors