Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
Post-traumatic stress disorder rates in trauma-exposed children and adolescents: updated three-level meta-analysis. |
| Authors: |
Visser, Ilse (AUTHOR), van der Mheen, Malindi (AUTHOR), Dorsman, Hannah (AUTHOR), Knipschild, Rik (AUTHOR), Staaks, Janneke (AUTHOR), Hein, Irma (AUTHOR), van Dongen, Noah (AUTHOR), Staal, Wouter (AUTHOR), Assink, Mark (AUTHOR), Lindauer, Ramón J. L. (AUTHOR) |
| Source: |
British Journal of Psychiatry. May2026, Vol. 228 Issue 5, p465-473. 9p. |
| Subjects: |
Post-traumatic stress disorder, Disease prevalence, Gender differences (Sociology), Teenagers, Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Book), Emotional trauma |
| Abstract: |
Background: In the past decade, no meta-analytical estimates of the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among children and adolescents have been published, despite a host of new prevalence studies and updated DSM-5 criteria. Aims: We set out to estimate the prevalence rates of PTSD in trauma-exposed children and adolescents on the basis of DSM-IV and DSM-5 criteria, and investigate differences in prevalence across trauma type, gender, time since exposure, type of informant and diagnostic measures. Method: Studies identified in a previous meta-analysis were combined with more recent studies retrieved in a new systematic literature search, resulting in a total of 95 studies describing 64 independent samples (n = 6745 for DSM-IV, n = 12 644 for DSM-5) over a 30-year period. Three-level random-effects models were used to estimate prevalence for DSM-IV and DSM-5 criteria separately, and for testing coded variables as moderators. Results: The DSM-IV meta-analysis estimated a PTSD prevalence of 20.3% (95% CI 14.9–26.2%) using 56 samples with age range 0–18 years, and revealed moderating effects of gender, trauma type and diagnostic interview type. The DSM-5 meta-analysis found an overall prevalence of 12.0% (95% CI 3.7–24.2%) using eight samples with age range 1–18 years. There was insufficient data for moderation analyses. Conclusions: Although most trauma-exposed children and adolescents do not develop PTSD, a significant proportion (20% under DSM-IV criteria and 12% under DSM-5 criteria) do, particularly girls and individuals exposed to interpersonal trauma. These findings highlight the urgent need of continuous efforts in prevention, early trauma-related screening, and effective diagnostics and treatment to address the substantial burden of PTSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
|
Copyright of British Journal of Psychiatry is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| Database: |
Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
