Nooner and collegues review studies of PTSD in adolescence published from 2000 to 2011. This indicates that adolescents are at greater risk of experiencing trauma than either adults or children. They discuss age, gender, type of trauma, and repeated trauma as factors related to the increased rates of adolescent PTSD. PTSD in adolescence is also associated with suicide, substance abuse, poor social support, academic problems, and poor physical health. PTSD may disrupt biological maturational processes and contribute to the long-term emotion and behavior regulation problems that are often evident in adolescents with the disorder. Finally Nooner and collegues present recommendations for practice and research regarding the promotion of targeted prevention and intervention services to maximize adolescents’ strengths and minimize vulnerabilities.
Nooner, K. B., Linares, L. O., Batinjane, J., Kramer, R. A., Silva, R., & Cloitre, M. (2012). Factors Related to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adolescence. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 13(3), 153–166. doi:10.1177/1524838012447698
