Treatment for Children With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Current Status and Future Directions

Although the treatment-efficacy literature for adults with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has advanced considerably with the publication of several methodologically rigorous contributions during the past decade, the child-focused PTSD literature has yet to extend beyond case illustrations and open trials. Central to this article is a review of the treatment-outcome literature for children with PTSD. Because few treatment studies have targeted trauma-exposed children relative to their adult counterparts, results of some methodologically rigorous investigations with adults are also cited in this review. From these investigations and from the available treatment-outcome data with children, we derive suggestions for future research.

[1]  B. Green,et al.  The Children's PTSD Inventory: Development and Reliability , 2000, Journal of traumatic stress.

[2]  K. Ruggiero,et al.  Sexual abuse characteristics associated with survivor psychopathology. , 2000, Child abuse & neglect.

[3]  K. Ruggiero,et al.  PTSD Scale of the Child Behavior Checklist: Concurrent and Discriminant Validity with Non-Clinic-Referred Sexually Abused Children , 2000, Journal of traumatic stress.

[4]  S. Perrin,et al.  Practitioner Review: The Assessment and Treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Children and Adolescents , 2000 .

[5]  K. Ruggiero,et al.  Psychopathology in non-clinically referred sexually abused children. , 1998, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[6]  J. Fairbank,et al.  Life events and post-traumatic stress: the development of a new measure for children and adolescents , 1998, Psychological Medicine.

[7]  A. Harvey,et al.  Treatment of acute stress disorder: a comparison of cognitive-behavioral therapy and supportive counseling. , 1998, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[8]  J. March,et al.  Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy for children and adolescents with posttraumatic stress disorder after a single-incident stressor. , 1998, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[9]  K. Lovell,et al.  Treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder by exposure and/or cognitive restructuring: a controlled study. , 1998, Archives of general psychiatry.

[10]  Stephanie P. Farrell,et al.  Cognitive behavioral interventions for sexually abused children exhibiting PTSD symptomatology , 1998 .

[11]  Philip C. Kendall,et al.  Methodological Issues in Treatment Research for Anxiety Disorders in Youth , 1998, Journal of abnormal child psychology.

[12]  D. Barlow,et al.  Behavioral assessment and treatment of PTSD in prepubertal children: Attention to developmental factors and innovative strategies in the case study of a family , 1997 .

[13]  B. Pfefferbaum.  Posttraumatic stress disorder in children: a review of the past 10 years. , 1997, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[14]  A. Mannarino,et al.  A treatment study for sexually abused preschool children: outcome during a one-year follow-up. , 1997, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[15]  A. Kazdin.  A model for developing effective treatments: progression and interplay of theory, research, and practice. , 1997, Journal of clinical child psychology.

[16]  L. Fairbanks,et al.  Outcome of psychotherapy among early adolescents after trauma. , 1997, The American journal of psychiatry.

[17]  P. Kendall,et al.  Exposure to Child Anxiety: Theory, Research, and Practice , 1997 .

[18]  Frueh Bc,et al.  Systematic desensitization as an alternative exposure strategy for PTSD. , 1997 .

[19]  R. Harmon,et al.  Clonidine for posttraumatic stress disorder in preschool children. , 1996, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[20]  W. Yule,et al.  Imaginal flooding of traumatized children and adolescents , 1996 .

[21]  S Eth,et al.  Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Review , 1996, Psychosomatic medicine.

[22]  J. R. Scotti,et al.  Behavioral treatment of a motor vehicle accident survivor: An illustrative case of direct therapeutic exposure* , 1995 .

[23]  E. Foa,et al.  Evaluation of a brief cognitive-behavioral program for the prevention of chronic PTSD in recent assault victims. , 1995, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[24]  J. Roje.  LA '94 Earthquake in the Eyes of Children: Art Therapy with Elementary School Children Who Were Victims of Disaster , 1995 .

[25]  G. Cooney,et al.  Self esteem, depression, behaviour and family functioning in sexually abused children. , 1995, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[26]  E. Costello,et al.  A test–retest reliability study of child-reported psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses using the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment (CAPA-C) , 1995, Psychological Medicine.

[27]  M. Astin,et al.  Posttraumatic stress disorder and childhood abuse in battered women: comparisons with maritally distressed women. , 1995, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[28]  C. Zeanah,et al.  Two approaches to the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder in infancy and early childhood. , 1995, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[29]  T. Roesler.  Reactions to Disclosure of Childhood Sexual Abuse The Effect on Adult Symptoms , 1994, The Journal of nervous and mental disease.

[30]  J. Cassisi,et al.  Graduated exposure plus feedback in the treatment of speech anxiety , 1994 .

[31]  J. Vogel,et al.  Part 1: Children's Psychological Responses to Disasters , 1993 .

[32]  L. Sharpe,et al.  An auditory variant of eye movement desensitization in a case of childhood post-traumatic stress disorder. , 1993, Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry.

[33]  J. Vogel,et al.  Part 2: Interventions With Children After Disasters , 1993 .

[34]  A. Al-Asfour,et al.  A preliminary study of PTSD and grief among the children of Kuwait following the Gulf crisis. , 1993, The British journal of clinical psychology.

[35]  L. Fairbanks,et al.  Post-traumatic Stress Reactions in Children After the 1988 Armenian Earthquake , 1993, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[36]  L. Hagopian,et al.  Treatment of separation anxiety disorder with graduated exposure and reinforcement targeting school attendance: a controlled case study , 1993 .

[37]  B. Rothbaum,et al.  Uncontrollability and unpredictability in post-traumatic stress disorder: an animal model. , 1992, Psychological bulletin.

[38]  S. Solomon,et al.  Efficacy of treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder. An empirical review. , 1992, JAMA.

[39]  B. Rothbaum,et al.  A prospective examination of post‐traumatic stress disorder in rape victims , 1992 .

[40]  R. McNally.  Assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder in children , 1991 .

[41]  B. Jacobs,et al.  Serotonin and behavior: emphasis on motor control. , 1991, The Journal of clinical psychiatry.

[42]  J. O. Rust,et al.  Relationships of Treatment of Child Sexual Abuse with School Achievement and Self-Concept , 1991 .

[43]  B. Rothbaum,et al.  Treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in rape victims: a comparison between cognitive-behavioral procedures and counseling. , 1991, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[44]  S. Lynn,et al.  Storytelling, hypnosis and the treatment of sexually abused children. , 1991, The International journal of clinical and experimental hypnosis.

[45]  L. Kiser,et al.  Physical and sexual abuse in childhood: relationship with post-traumatic stress disorder. , 1991, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[46]  W. Friedrich.  Hypnotherapy with traumatized children. , 1991, The International journal of clinical and experimental hypnosis.

[47]  L. Fairbanks,et al.  Children's PTSD reactions one year after a sniper attack at their school. , 1990, The American journal of psychiatry.

[48]  E. Deblinger,et al.  Cognitive behavioral treatment for sexually abused children suffering post-traumatic stress: preliminary findings. , 1990, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[49]  R. Pynoos,et al.  Children's Exposure to Violence and Traumatic Death , 1990 .

[50]  D. Brom,et al.  Brief psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorders. , 1989, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[51]  S. Cameron,et al.  Children Exposed to Wife Abuse: An Intervention Model , 1989 .

[52]  J. Fairbank,et al.  Implosive (flooding) therapy reduces symptoms of PTSD in Vietnam combat veterans. , 1989 .

[53]  P. Saigh.  The Use of an in Vitro Flooding Package in the Treatment of Traumatized Adolescents , 1989, Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP.

[54]  R. Famularo,et al.  Propranolol treatment for childhood posttraumatic stress disorder, acute type. A pilot study. , 1988, American journal of diseases of children.

[55]  E. Foa,et al.  Post-traumatic stress disorder in sexually abused children. , 1988, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[56]  C. Marmar,et al.  Brief dynamic psychotherapy of post-traumatic stress disorders: Management of narcissistic regression , 1988 .

[57]  J. Lyons.  Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children and Adolescents: A Review of the Literature , 1987, Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP.

[58]  P. Saigh.  In Vitro Flooding of an Adolescent's Posttraumatic Stress Disorder , 1987 .

[59]  L. Alden,et al.  A comparison of treatment strategies for clients functionally impaired by extreme shyness and social avoidance. , 1986, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[60]  L Michelson,et al.  Cognitive and behavioral treatments of agoraphobia: clinical, behavioral, and psychophysiological outcomes. , 1985, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[61]  D. Kilpatrick,et al.  Some cautionary remarks on treating sexual assault victims with implosion , 1984 .

[62]  W. Silverman,et al.  Treatment of an incest victim with implosive therapy: A case study , 1984 .

[63]  W. Silverman,et al.  Further considerations in treating sexual assault victims with implosion , 1984 .

[64]  Appelbaum Ps,et al.  Involuntary treatment in medicine and psychiatry. , 1984, The American journal of psychiatry.

[65]  I. Marks,et al.  Flooding versus Desensitization in the Treatment of Phobic Patients: A Crossover Study , 1971, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[66]  S. Orr,et al.  Five-year follow-up study of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy for combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. , 2000, Comprehensive psychiatry.

[67]  D. Shaffer,et al.  NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV (NIMH DISC-IV): description, differences from previous versions, and reliability of some common diagnoses. , 2000, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[68]  Judith Cohen,et al.  Factors that mediate treatment outcome of sexually abused preschool children: six- and 12-month follow-up. , 1998, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[69]  S. Ornduff.  TAT assessment of object relations: implications for child abuse. , 1997, Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic.

[70]  E. Foa,et al.  Trauma and women: course, predictors, and treatment. , 1997, The Journal of clinical psychiatry.

[71]  E. Foa,et al.  Psychosocial treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder: a critical review. , 1997, Annual review of psychology.

[72]  Judith Cohen,et al.  A treatment outcome study for sexually abused preschool children: initial findings. , 1996, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[73]  A. Steinberg,et al.  Strategies of Disaster Intervention for Children and Adolescents , 1995 .

[74]  J. R. Scotti,et al.  The Psychological Impact of Accidental Injury , 1995 .

[75]  D. Levis.  Decoding traumatic memory: Implosive theory of psychopathology. , 1995 .

[76]  D. Cicchetti,et al.  Effects of domestic violence on children's behavior problems and depression. , 1993 .

[77]  P. Saigh.  The behavioral treatment of child and adolescent posttraumatic stress disorder , 1992 .

[78]  G. L. Brady.  A group-work approach for sexually abused preschoolers , 1991 .

[79]  P. Saigh.  In vitro flooding of childhood posttraumatic stress disorders: A systematic replication. , 1987 .

[80]  T. Achenbach,et al.  Child/adolescent behavioral and emotional problems: implications of cross-informant correlations for situational specificity. , 1987, Psychological bulletin.

[81]  M. Fromuth.  The relationship of childhood sexual abuse with later psychological and sexual adjustment in a sample of college women. , 1986, Child abuse & neglect.

[82]  P. Saigh.  In vitro flooding in the treatment of a 6-yr-old boy's posttraumatic stress disorder. , 1986, Behaviour research and therapy.

[83]  D. Kilpatrick,et al.  Psychological Sequelae to Rape , 1982 .