NCJ Number
130521
Editor(s)
S Eth,
R S Pynoos
Date Published
1985
Length
202 pages
Annotation
Nine chapters by experts in the field of child psychiatry examine characteristics of various traumatic events in children's lives and the subsequent emergence of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Abstract
The first chapter presents the evolution of professional interest in traumatized children and outlines the progression of the level of observation, from exclusively indirect contacts with the parent or guardian to direct involvement of the affected child in clinical interviews. A chapter on children exposed to acts of personal violence (homicide, rape, and suicide) outlines the general theory of post-traumatic stress disorder as it applies to such children. It discusses common features found in these children, such as the intrusion of violent or mutilating imagery, the challenge to the child's own impulse control, the task of assigning human accountability, and the potentially debilitating effects of unexplored revenge fantasies. Another chapter describes the various traumatic components of the child-abuse syndrome and examines their impact on the psychopathology, cognitive impairment, and developmental sequelae the authors observed in physically abused children. A chapter on the impact of incest on child victims considers whether or not incest is traumatic, whether or not incest victims are symptomatic, and the recognition of post-traumatic disorders in incest victims. Other chapters address children traumatized in small groups, by catastrophic situations, by Central American warfare, and by cancer. The interaction of trauma and grief in childhood is discussed in the final chapter. Chapter references