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Exposure to traumatic events is a common experience for children and adolescents. Accurate early assessment of acute stress responses can help predict risk for longer term sequelae and can guide secondary prevention to reduce the incidence and severity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after trauma exposure.

The goal of this project was to develop a practical self-report measure of acute stress disorder (ASD) for children and adolescents, and to provide initial evidence as to its reliability and validity. The specific aims of the project were to:

• Aim 1: Establish the content validity of a pilot Child ASD measure for ages 8 to 17, based on expert review and youth feedback.
• Aim 2: In a sample of recently injured children (n=176), assess the psychometric properties of the measure: internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent and discriminant validity with other measures and other reporters.
• Aim 3: Provide initial data regarding the predictive validity of the Child ASD measure in relation to later PTSD development in the same sample of children.

Children and youth, aged 8 - 18 years, were invited to participate in this study after being treated in an emergency department (ED) for an injury resulting from interpersonal community violence. Each invited youth also had to have been living within specified postal codes (urban areas surrounding the hospital). Following the youth's baseline assessment (T1), participants completed between 0 and 4 follow-up assessments. The timing of each follow-up assessment was scheduled according to the relative time since the index (violent injury) event occurred. The average follow-up assessment was conducted at 27 days (T3), 75 days (T5), 199 days (T7), and 467 days (T10).

After pediatric injury, posttraumatic stress and other emotional outcomes in children and their parents often go unrecognized and untreated. This is due in part to the challenges in identifying at-risk children and their parents in the emergency care setting. The aims of this study were to assess the extent to which nurses were able to implement a brief screener for posttraumatic stress symptoms risk within the course of normal care of injured patients, and to assess posttraumatic stress and depression symptoms in injured children (aged 8-17 years) and their parents after emergency department care, and the relationship of these symptoms to parent-reported overall recovery.

The objectives of the current study were to describe child post-traumatic stress (PTS), coping behavior, and parent coping assistance following a child's injury. The study enrolled children age 8 to 17 treated at the emergency department or admitted to the hospital for unintentional injury, and one parent per child. Children and parents completed measures of child PTS, coping, and coping assistance at 2 weeks post-injury and 3 months post-injury. The research team addressed these questions:

1. What types of coping do children use following an injury?
2. Is parent coping assistance related to child coping behavior?
3. Are child coping strategies associated with PTS symptoms?
4. Is early parent coping assistance related to later development of child PTS symptoms?

This study was originally conceived as a prospective randomized trial to evaluate the efficacy of secondary prevention messages conveyed in printed informational materials (handouts and workbooks) for children and parents after pediatric injury. Children and their parents received 1 of 5 randomly assigned workbook sections (each addressing a different key theme). No differences were observed between groups for parent/child knowledge and beliefs about PTS and adaptive coping, nor in child PTS symptoms. Thus, data from all groups have been combined for analyses of prospective PTS outcomes and coping processes.

Because the emergency department (ED) is often the only point of contact with the health care system for violently injured adolescents, it provides a unique opportunity to assess children following a violent injury. In violently injured teens, depressive and acute posttraumatic stress symptoms may help predict future behavioral risk factors and reinjury. The objective of this study was to examine whether emergency department (ED) assessments of depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms after an episode of interpersonal violence are associated with future risk behaviors, re-injury and posttraumatic stress symptoms in adolescents.

Injured adolescents (age 12-17 years) were assessed for posttraumatic stress and depression symptoms and self-reported risk behaviors either during or soon after (within 2 weeks) an ED visit and completed a telephone follow-up assessment between 6 and 18 months later, during which they were assessed again for self-reported risk behaviors, posttraumatic stress symptoms and re-injury.

Trajectory modeling can identify patterns of posttraumatic stress symptoms in children and parents. This study aimed to describe trajectories of child and parent posttraumatic stress symptoms across 2 years post-injury, and to examine potential risk factors predicting problematic trajectories. The study enrolled children age 7 to 16 admitted to general or intensive care units for treatment of accidental injury, and one parent/caregiver per child. Within 2 weeks of injury, and at 4-6 weeks, 6 months, and (a subset) at 2 years post-injury, children and parents were assessed for posttraumatic stress symptoms. Parents also completed measures of parenting behavior and pre-injury child mental health.

This study prospectively assessed psychological and cognitive sequelae of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children. Multiple factors may influence children's functioning following head injury including injury severity, pre-injury child factors, and family factors. Overall study aims were to describe the relationships between these factors and children's recovery in the eighteen months following their injury, to examine the relationship between children's cognitive impairments post injury and psychological distress related to the injury event, and to examine the role of PTSD in children's recovery from TBI.

The study enrolled children age 6 to 15 admitted to hospital after an accident resulting in mild to severe TBI, and one parent per child. Children and parents completed research assessments within 2 months of the accident, and at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months post-accident. Child health and behavior, health-related quality of life, parenting, and parent posttraumatic stress were assessed at all time points, and child posttraumatic stress symptoms were assessed at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months.

The broad aims of this overall project were to examine predictors of children's adjustment, mainly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), after a single-incident injury. The overarching hypothesis was that a combination of physiological/biological, cognitive, and parental anxiety factors would predict children's later adjustment. The dataset in this collection comes from the combination of two broad projects that recruited from the same hospitals, with the first (smaller) project being built upon by the second project (which contained additional measures and an additional follow-up).

Children and adolescents aged 7 to 17 and their families (n=135) were recruited for the study after presentation to either of two major metropolitan Australian hospitals following a single-incident injury. Children's heart rate was recorded at hospital triage. Children and parents completed risk screening measures within 4 weeks of injury. Measures for cognitive appraisals, social support, traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms were assessed at 3 months and 6 months post-injury.

The aims of this study were to describe the course of posttraumatic stress responses in children after exposure to a hurricane and to examine potential predictors of child outcomes.

Three months after a major hurricane, the study enrolled students in grades three to five (age 7 to 12) in local schools. At the initial (3 month) assessment, children reported on specific hurricane-related trauma exposures, posttraumatic stress and anxiety symptoms, coping, and social support; at 7 months and 10 months post-hurricane, children reported on posttraumatic stress, anxiety, and coping.

This study enrolled children ages 7 to 15 who received medical care at the hospital after an acute traffic accident or burn injury, and up to two parents/caregivers per child. Within 1 month of injury, and at 3 months, and 6 months post-injury, children and parents were assessed for posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and depression. Parents also completed measures of their own anxiety symptoms and of child behavior and health-related quality of life. The study aimed to achieve a better understanding of dysfunctional trauma-related cognitions considering child and environmental factors in a cross-sectional and a longitudinal design.

The overall objective of this study was to examine trajectories and predictors of posttraumatic stress and depression in children and parents after a major hurricane, with a particular focus on hurricane exposure and on parenting variables that might be amenable to intervention.

Three months after the hurricane, the study enrolled students in grades four through eight (age 8 to 16) in local schools and invited parent participation, and conducted assessments at four time points post-hurricane. Children reported on prior violence exposure and hurricane-related trauma exposure, and on posttraumatic stress, coping, social support; and parents reported on child behavior as well as their own posttraumatic stress and other mental health symptoms, coping, and parenting practices. (Note: The current dataset does not include measures of parenting practices.)

Millions of children suffer unintentional injuries annually. While the majority display transient psychological distress, a significant minority develop significant, persistent symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that are associated with poorer general health outcomes and impaired quality of life. Understanding variables that contribute to the development of PTSD is an essential step in identifying children at increased risk for PTSD and improving secondary prevention to reduce the incidence of PTSD in children following medical events.

The objective of this study was to examine the interplay of biological, psychological (cognitive appraisals, coping), and environmental (parent influence) factors during the peri-trauma time period as these relate to the development of child PTSD symptoms over time.

Children age 8-13 with a recent injury (within the past 2 weeks) and one parent / caregiver per child were enrolled during an inpatient hospitalization. At the time of enrollment, and again 6 weeks and 12 weeks post-injury, children and parents completed measures of cognitive appraisals, coping, coping assistance, and PTSD symptoms. A brief parent-child interaction task was completed at the time of the baseline assessment - data from this task-based assessment are not included in this dataset.