NCJ Number
146938
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1994) Pages: 27- 36
Date Published
1994
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study examined rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a sample of severely maltreated children and their mothers and investigated the age of onset of documented maltreatment.
Abstract
The sample consisted of 109 pairs of women and their children who went before a juvenile/family court due to maltreatment severe enough to warrant the removal of children from parental custody. Children were examined using the PTSD section of the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents (DICA), Revised 6th Version. The PTSD module of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID) was administered to all mothers. In addition, both children and mothers participated in clinical psychiatric interviews. Of the 109 cases, 15.6 percent of mothers met SCID criteria for a current presentation of PTSD, while 36.7 percent had a past history of PTSD. Of the 109 children, 35.8 percent met current DICA criteria for PTSD. Findings showed that PTSD was significantly overrepresented in children of mothers diagnosed with PTSD. On average, maltreatment began at about 4 years of age among children diagnosed as having PTSD and at about 5 years of age in a group of seriously maltreated children who did not develop PTSD. The onset of maltreatment was significantly earlier among children whose mothers met PTSD criteria than among other maltreated children. Intergenerational transmission of violence and developmental effects of traumatic experiences on young children are discussed. 35 references, 1 table, and 3 figures