Yang Rui, Xiang Yu-Tao, Shuai Lan, Qian Ying, Lai Kelly Y C, Ungvari Gabor S, Chiu Helen F K, Wang Yu-Feng
The Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University) & Institute of Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China; The Mood Disorders Center, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2014 Jan;55(1):31-8. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12089. Epub 2013 Jun 3.
While several studies have found executive function deficits in adults and maltreated children with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there are few data on executive function in children and adolescents with PTSD related to natural disasters. The objective of this study was to test executive function changes over time in children and adolescents with PTSD after a magnitude 8.0 earthquake in Sichuan, China.
A sample of 34 children and adolescents with diagnosed PTSD following the Sichuan earthquake and 66 matched controls exposed to the same earthquake but without PTSD participated in the study. Executive function was assessed using a battery of interviewer-rated neuropsychological tests and the guardian-rated Behavior Rating Scale of Executive Function (BRIEF) at 4- and 12-month after the earthquake.
Children and adolescents with PTSD performed similar to controls in executive function at 4-months after the earthquake. Both groups improved significantly in similar domains of cognition during the following 8 months. The PTSD group exhibited daily deficits in emotional control compared with the controls at the 4-month assessment, but the differences disappeared during the following 8 months.
Children and adolescents with PTSD related to a natural disaster have deficits only in the emotional control domain of executive function compared with controls exposed to the same disaster, but even these deficits did not persist.
虽然多项研究发现患有创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的成年人和受虐待儿童存在执行功能缺陷，但关于与自然灾害相关的PTSD儿童和青少年的执行功能数据却很少。本研究的目的是测试中国四川8.0级地震后患有PTSD的儿童和青少年的执行功能随时间的变化。
34名在四川地震后被诊断为PTSD的儿童和青少年以及66名同样经历了该地震但未患PTSD的匹配对照组参与了研究。在地震后的4个月和12个月，使用一系列由访谈者评定的神经心理学测试和由监护人评定的执行功能行为评定量表（BRIEF）对执行功能进行评估。
地震后4个月，患有PTSD的儿童和青少年在执行功能方面的表现与对照组相似。在接下来的8个月里，两组在相似的认知领域都有显著改善。在4个月评估时，与对照组相比，PTSD组在情绪控制方面存在日常缺陷，但在接下来的8个月里，这些差异消失了。
与经历相同灾害的对照组相比，与自然灾害相关的PTSD儿童和青少年仅在执行功能的情绪控制领域存在缺陷，而且即使这些缺陷也没有持续存在。
