Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Articles & Searches Download to citation manager Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Articles by Storr, C. L. Articles by Breslau, N. Search for Related Content PubMed Citation Articles by Storr, C. L. Articles by Breslau, N. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Childhood Antecedents of Exposure to Traumatic Events and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

OBJECTIVE: The authors prospectively examined childhood antecedents of exposure to traumatic events to estimate the risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among those exposed to trauma. METHOD: Two consecutive cohorts of children entering first grade of a public school system in a large mid-Atlantic city in the mid-1980s were followed into young adulthood (mean age=21). Exposure to traumatic events and PTSD were assessed in 75% of the original cohort (N=1,698). Childhood assessments, conducted upon entry into the first grade, included standardized measures of reading readiness, teacher ratings of behavioral problems, and child self-reports about depression and anxiety. Family characteristics were assessed by parental report. RESULTS: Young adults who had been rated by their first grade teacher as having aggressive/disruptive behavior problems were more likely to experience traumatic assaultive violence events (e.g., being mugged/threatened with a weapon, badly beaten-up) (relative risk=2.6) but not PTSD following trauma exposure. Youths with high levels of self-rated depressive and anxious feelings in first grade were more likely to experience PTSD once exposed to trauma (relative risk=1.5). Youths who scored in the highest quartile on a reading test in the first grade were at lower risk for exposure to assaultive violence traumas. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood behavioral and depressive/anxious problems may influence the risk for PTSD directly by increasing the vulnerability to the PTSD effects of trauma exposure, and indirectly by increasing the likelihood of exposure to assaultive violence.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				N. Breslau, E. L. Peterson, and L. R. Schultz A Second Look at Prior Trauma and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Effects of Subsequent Trauma: A Prospective Epidemiological Study Arch Gen Psychiatry, April 1, 2008; 65(4): 431 - 437. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				2007 in Review Am J Psychiatry, December 1, 2007; 164(12): 1780 - 1783. [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. L. Reed, J. C. Anthony, and N. Breslau Incidence of Drug Problems in Young Adults Exposed to Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Do Early Life Experiences and Predispositions Matter? Arch Gen Psychiatry, December 1, 2007; 64(12): 1435 - 1442. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Get information about faster international access.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2007 American Psychiatric Association. All rights reserved.

Home | Search | Current Issue | Past Issues | Subscribe | All APPI Journals | Help | Contact Us