Can adult models for CBT be used with children & adolescents with PTSD a critical evaluation - Essay Example

A child’s response to a given trauma may vary according to the age, nature, duration and type of stressor, gender or any other previous history of exposure. Children have the capacity to link the traumatic event with any other event with similar features. This capacity leads to the psychological, emotional and behavioral symptoms that develop after a traumatic event (Perry and Pollard, 1998). Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a clinical syndrome that is usually developed after experiencing an extreme traumatic stress (DSM IV).

Following is the criteria for the diagnosis of PTSD in children. A child is said to have Acute Stress Disorder (DSM IV) when the above criteria is met during the month after the traumatic experience. Further characterization of PTSD shows a child in acute stage when the symptoms develop in less than three months, Chronic in more than three months and Delayed Onset when initial symptoms develop six months or more after the traumatic event (Perry, 1999). The diagnosis of PTSD in very young children is difficult due to the inability of the children to report the traumatic event and symptoms (Scheeringa et al. 1995). Lifetime incidence of PTSD ranges from 3-14 % (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 1994).

Various studies have been carried out to examine the prevalence of PTSD in adolescents. The studies showed that 3% of females and 1% of males met the DSM IV criteria of PTSD (Cuffe et al. 1998). Greater female adolescent population met the criteria for PTSD than males. Higher prevalence rates for PTSD were reported among children who have been exposed to traumatic events and was even were higher in high-risk groups. 35% of the adolescents diagnosed with cancer met the criteria for lifetime PTSD (Pfefferbaum, 1997).

15% of young cancer patients had moderate to severe PTSS (Stuber et al. 1997); 93% of children exposed to domestic violence had PTSS (Kilpatrick, Williams, 1998); 80% of Kuwaiti youth exposed to the