A Longitudinal Examination of the Relationship between Trauma-Related Cognitive Factors and Internalising and Externalising Psychopathology in Physically Injured Children.

A Longitudinal Examination of the Relationship between Trauma-Related Cognitive Factors and Internalising and Externalising Psychopathology in Physically Injured Children. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2018 Sep 28;: Authors: Hiller RM, Creswell C, Meiser-Stedman R, Lobo S, Cowdrey F, Lyttle MD, Ehlers A, Halligan SL Abstract Cognitive models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) highlight maladaptive posttrauma appraisals, trauma memory qualities, and coping strategies, such as rumination or thought suppression, as key processes that maintain PTSD symptoms. Anxiety, depression and externalising symptoms can also present in children in the aftermath of trauma, yet there has been little empirical investigation of the potential relevance of posttrauma cognitive processes for such difficulties. Here, we examined whether: a) acute maladaptive cognitive processes (specifically, maladaptive appraisals, memory qualities, and cognitive coping) were associated with symptoms of PTSD, internalising, and externalising at 1-month posttrauma (T1); and b) changes in these cognitive processes predicted symptom change at a follow-up assessment 6 months later (T2). We recruited 132 6-13 year old children and their parents from emergency departments following the child's experience of an acute trauma. Children self-reported on their maladaptive appraisals, trauma-memory and cognitive coping strategies, along with symptoms of PTSD, anxiety and depression. ...
Source: Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: J Abnorm Child Psychol Source Type: research