Posttraumatic stress and co-occurrence of mental health problems in Sri Lankan adolescents

A significant minority (5 %) of adolescents develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after trauma exposure. These adolescents are likely to experience many other mental health problems and have related impaired functioning. This study examined the co-occurrence of Emotional and Behavioral Problems (EBP) with PTSD symptoms and investigated the effect of PTSD symptoms on EBP-related impaired functioning. The initial sample (T1) comprised 729 Sri Lankan adolescents, age 12-16 years, living in an area impacted by the 2004 tsunami. In 2008, participants (T1) completed measures of trauma exposure, PTSD symptoms, EBP and related functional impairment. Sixteen months later a subsample of 90 adolescents (T2) underwent diagnostic interview for PTSD and co-occurrence of mental health morbidity. In the 58.2 % of the T1 sample reporting any trauma exposure, 23.7 % met criteria for full or partial PTSD. Among all participants, 13.4 % had borderline to abnormal levels of EBP. EBP was significantly higher among PTSD-positive participants compared to PTSD-negative and non-traumatized subgroups (p < 0.001). In the T2 sample, all four cases with diagnosed PTSD had coexisting psychological problems. Further, PTSD symptoms exacerbated the impact of EBP on functional impairment. Findings support the conclusion that researchers and practitioners should be alert to EBP among trauma-exposed adolescents, because such general psychological problems are common and, in combination with PTSD symptoms, are associated with even greater impairment. Moreover, identifying the presence of these trauma associated problems is of crucial clinical importance.