Studies on PTSD and children reviewed

A website called Mental Elf posted an interesting article about the rates of PTSD in children who had experienced trauma. The articles reviews a meta-analysis about this topic. (A meta-analysis is when researchers look at all of the studies already done on a particular subject, and then analyze, compare, and summarize all of the studies' findings.) There's been debate over this percentage, depending on the child and the type of trauma. This particular meta-analysis came up with the number 16%, or 1 in 6 children, which they discussed as probably being low. They only looked at kids who met the full criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and didn't account for partial symptoms, or other diagnoses. My interest in this topic stems from clients' questions about why they are struggling with PTSD symptoms, and others who went through similar experiences, are not.  Adults, and kids much more directly, ask what is wrong with them. This article shines some light on the fact that we are all wired a little differently, and are sensitive in different ways, to different experiences. The important part to remember is that there isn't anything inherently wrong with you. The same brain architecture or brain hard wiring that make us susceptible to experiencing something traumatic more intensely, can also be a strength and help us heal. That last part is just my professional experience, not based in research.