Citation

Lipschitz DS, Winegar RK, Hartnick E, Foote B, Southwick SM. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 1999; 38(4): 385-392.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, Publisher Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/00004583-199904000-00010

PMID

10199109

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To describe the diagnostic comorbidity and clinical correlates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adolescent psychiatric inpatients. METHOD: Seventy-four adolescent inpatients were given a structured diagnostic interview, the revised version of the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents, and a battery of standard self-report measures to assess general trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress symptoms, suicidal behavior, dissociation, and depression. RESULTS: Ninety-three percent of subjects reported exposure to at least one traumatic event such as being a witness/victim of community violence, witnessing family violence, or being the victim of physical/sexual abuse. Thirty-two percent of subjects met diagnostic criteria for current PTSD, with sexual abuse cited as the most common traumatic stressor in 69% of PTSD cases. Girls were significantly more likely to develop PTSD than boys, although the total number of types of trauma did not differ by gender. Compared with psychiatric controls, male youngsters with PTSD were significantly more likely to have comorbid diagnoses of eating disorders, other anxiety disorders, and somatization disorder. Furthermore, male and female youngsters with PTSD were significantly more likely to have attempted suicide and report greater depressive and dissociative symptoms. CONCLUSION: In clinical populations of hospitalized adolescents exposed to multiple forms of trauma, PTSD is a common, but highly comorbid disorder. Specific multimodal assessments and treatments targeted to both PTSD and its comorbidity profile are warranted.

Language: en