Barroca Inês, Pinto Inês, Carvalho Paula Saraiva
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Service, Unidade Local de Saúde de Lisboa Ocidental, Lisbon, Portugal.
Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidade da Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal.
Brain Behav. 2025 Sep;15(9):e70805. doi: 10.1002/brb3.70805.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in childhood and adolescence is common. Studies have focused on a small group of predictors related to the traumatic event and still focus on the adult population.
To explore the prevalence of PTSD and to identify factors that potentially increase the risk for the development of PTSD in a clinical sample of children and adolescents. Eligibility criteria included: experienced at least one traumatic event; age between 7 and 18 years; follow-up period of at least 1 month. Data collection was achieved by using: clinical records to obtain the patients' clinical data; the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale and the Checklist of Potentially Traumatic Events in Children and Adolescents.
A total of 101 participants were included. The prevalence of PTSD was 35.6%. For pre-traumatic factors, significant association was found for age (p = 0.033), suggesting increased likelihood of PTSD for older participants. Regarding the type of event, PTSD was significantly associated with interpersonal events (p = 0.001). Participants who were a single intervenient (involved person) had increased odds for PTSD (p = 0.036). It was found that the association with PTSD, in a decreasing manner, occurred with dissociative symptoms, followed by symptoms of Group C (avoidance), Group B (intrusive thoughts), Group E (activation and reactivity) and Group D (cognitions and mood). Dissociative symptoms were significantly associated with PTSD (p = 0.001).
The study provides evidence that several factors can predict the development of PTSD in childhood and adolescence. Awareness about these factors, healthcare workers' specific training, and prevention and intervention strategies are the foundation to promote child well-being throughout life.
儿童和青少年创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）很常见。研究集中在与创伤事件相关的一小部分预测因素上，且仍以成年人群为重点。
探讨PTSD的患病率，并确定在儿童和青少年临床样本中可能增加PTSD发生风险的因素。纳入标准包括：经历过至少一次创伤事件；年龄在7至18岁之间；随访期至少1个月。通过以下方式进行数据收集：利用临床记录获取患者的临床数据；使用临床医生管理的PTSD量表以及儿童和青少年潜在创伤事件清单。
共纳入101名参与者。PTSD的患病率为35.6%。对于创伤前因素，发现年龄存在显著关联（p = 0.033），表明年龄较大的参与者患PTSD的可能性增加。关于事件类型，PTSD与人际事件显著相关（p = 0.001）。作为单一干预者（涉事者）的参与者患PTSD的几率增加（p = 0.036）。发现与PTSD的关联依次为分离症状、C组（回避）症状、B组（侵入性思维）症状、E组（激活和反应性）症状以及D组（认知和情绪）症状，且关联程度逐渐降低。分离症状与PTSD显著相关（p = 0.001）。
该研究提供了证据表明多个因素可预测儿童和青少年PTSD的发生。了解这些因素、医护人员的专业培训以及预防和干预策略是促进儿童一生幸福的基础。
