The dimensionality of posttraumatic stress symptoms and their relationship to depression in children and adolescents

Abstract

The aims of the study were twofold: to investigate 6 different factor structures in posttraumatic stress symptoms using confirmatory factor analyses with polychoric correlations, and to examine to what extent posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is different from depression. The study was based on a clinical sample of 312 children and adolescents 10 to 18 years old who had experienced different types of traumatic events. Results showed that 3 out of the 6 models demonstrated good fit, but the dysphoria model provided the best fit to the data. Furthermore, correlations between depression and subscales of the dysphoria and numbing models provided additional support for the dysphoria model.