Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Adolescents: Risk Factors, Diagnosis, and Intervention

Research on violent trauma and other high-magnitude threats has confirmed that exposure to severe traumatic experiences is predictive of later psychopathology in young persons, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Here the authors summarize the literature on child and adolescent PTSD, paying particular attention to elements that diverge from the adult disorder and implications specific to prevention and treatment in the adolescent.