@article{ref1,
title="A meta-analysis of risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents",
journal="Clinical psychology review",
year="2011",
author="Trickey, David and Siddaway, Andy P. and Meiser-Stedman, Richard and Serpell, Lucy and Field, Andy P.",
volume="32",
number="2",
pages="122-138",
abstract="Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex and chronic disorder that causes substantial distress and interferes with social and educational functioning. Consequently, identifying the risk factors that make a child more likely to experience traumatic distress is of academic, clinical and social importance. This meta-analysis estimated the population effect sizes of 25 potential risk factors for PTSD in children and adolescents aged 6-18years across 64 studies (N=32,238). Medium to large effect sizes were shown for many factors relating to subjective experience of the event and post-trauma variables (low social support, peri-trauma fear, perceived life threat, social withdrawal, comorbid psychological problem, poor family functioning, distraction, PTSD at time 1, and thought suppression); whereas pre-trauma variables and more objective measures of the assumed severity of the event generated small to medium effect sizes. This indicates that subjective peri-trauma factors and post-event factors are likely to have a major role in determining whether a child develops PTSD following exposure to a traumatic event. Such factors could potentially be assessed following a potentially traumatic event in order to screen for those most vulnerable to developing PTSD and target treatment efforts accordingly. The findings support the cognitive model of PTSD as a way of understanding its development and guiding interventions to reduce symptoms.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0272-7358",
doi="10.1016/j.cpr.2011.12.001",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2011.12.001"
}