Disqualified qualifiers: evaluating the utility of the revised DSM-5 definition of potentially traumatic events among area youth following the Boston marathon bombing

Depress Anxiety. 2017 Apr;34(4):367-373. doi: 10.1002/da.22543. Epub 2016 Jul 19.

Abstract

The DSM-5 includes a revised definition of the experiences that qualify as potentially traumatic events. This revised definition now offers a clearer and more exclusive definition of what qualifies as a traumatic exposure, but little is known about the revision's applicability to youth populations. The present study evaluated the predictive utility of the revised DSM definitional boundaries of traumatic exposure in a sample of youth exposed to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and related events METHODS: Caregivers (N = 460) completed surveys 2 to 6 months postbombing about youth experiences during the events and youth posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms RESULTS: Experiencing DSM-5 qualifying traumatic events (DSM-5 QTEs) significantly predicted child PTS symptoms (PTSS), whereas DSM-5 nonqualifying stressful experiences (DSM-5 non-QSEs) did not after accounting for DSM-5 QTEs. Importantly, child age moderated the relationship between DSM-5 QTEs and PTSS such that children 7 and older who experienced DSM-5 QTEs showed greater postbombing PTSS, whereas there was no such relationship in children ages 6 and below CONCLUSIONS: Data largely support the revised posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) definition of QTEs in older youth, and also highlight the need for further refinement of the QTE definition for children ages 6 and below.

Keywords: PTSD/posttraumatic stress disorder; assessment/diagnosis; child/adolescent; stress; trauma.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Bombs*
  • Boston
  • Caregivers
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / diagnosis*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Terrorism / psychology*
  • Young Adult