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Traumatic Stress and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Children and Adolescents

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Handbook of Developmental Psychopathology

Abstract

Children are exposed to traumatic events at alarming rates, and evidence suggests that this exposure may have profound effects on development and well-being. The events that evoke stress responses, the responses that are evoked, and the conditions that are protective or that may enhance vulnerability have received research attention, but long-term consequences and outcomes of trauma are less clear. Most research on the sequelae of traumatic stress has been on adults, but evidence suggests that children are exposed and react similarly to threatening events and experience mild and severe symptoms of stress as well. In this chapter, we discuss the consequences of stress and trauma among children. Precipitating events and mediating variables are considered as well as common symptoms of distress along a developmental continuum. Parallels with adults’ responses to stress and with posttraumatic stress syndromes are also considered.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Medicine and Oncology, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15219, USA

    Laura M. Davidson & Andrew Baum

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15219, USA

    Sabra S. Inslicht

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  1. Laura M. Davidson
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

    Arnold J. Sameroff

  2. Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

    Michael Lewis

  3. Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Suzanne M. Miller

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Davidson, L.M., Inslicht, S.S., Baum, A. (2000). Traumatic Stress and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Children and Adolescents. In: Sameroff, A.J., Lewis, M., Miller, S.M. (eds) Handbook of Developmental Psychopathology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4163-9_38

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