Life Threat and Posttraumatic Stress in School-age Children

TLDR

The study sampled 159 school‑age children one month after a fatal sniper attack, collecting self‑reported PTSD symptoms with the Child PTSD Reaction Index and conducting analyses of item responses, overall severity, symptom clusters, and prior life events. Analysis revealed that PTSD symptom severity varied with exposure level but not with sex, ethnicity, or age, and that proximity to the violence was strongly linked to both the type and number of symptoms, confirming acute PTSD in highly exposed children.

Abstract

One hundred fifty-nine children (14.5% of the student body) were sampled after a fatal sniper attack on their elementary school playground. Systematic self-reports of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were obtained by use of a child PTSD Reaction Index. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences by exposure but not by sex, ethnicity, or age. Additional analyses were conducted of individual item response, overall severity of PTSD reaction, symptom grouping, and previous life events. The results provide strong evidence that acute PTSD symptoms occur in school-age children with a notable correlation between proximity to the violence and type and number of PTSD symptoms. Sampling at approximately one month after the trauma provided adequate delineation among exposure groups. The symptom profile of highly exposed children lends validity to the diagnosis of acute PTSD in childhood.