Childhood PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) could be caused by anything that the child finds overwhelmingly distressing or life-threatening, such as abuse, natural disasters, witnessing violence, serious accidents, neglect, bullying or the sudden loss of a loved one.
According to the National Center for PTSD, approximately 3-15% of girls and 1-6% of boys in the general population of the United States will develop PTSD following a traumatic event.
4-5% of adolescents (ages 13-18) experience PTSD, this would translate to approximately
1.48 to 1.85 million adolescents with PTSD
A meta-analysis in Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review (2019) estimated that the global prevalence of PTSD among children and adolescents who have experienced a traumatic event is around 9.2% or 202.4 million children.
Child protection services in the U.S. get around three million reports each year. This involves 5.5 million children. Of the reported cases, there is proof of abuse in about 30%. From these cases, we have an idea how often different types of abuse occur:
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65% neglect
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18% physical abuse
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10% sexual abuse
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7% psychological (emotional) abuse
Adults
An estimated 3.6% of U.S. adults had PTSD in the past year.
The lifetime prevalence of PTSD is 6.8%
Some common causes of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the United States include:
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Abuse: Physical, sexual, or psychological abuse, including childhood abuse, domestic abuse, and bullying
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Violence: Combat, terrorist attacks, violent assaults, and other forms of violence
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Disasters: Natural disasters like floods or earthquakes, or human-caused disasters like school shootings or car crashes
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Other events: Being threatened with a weapon, witnessing a suicide, or seeing violence in your area
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Work: Exposure to traumatic events at work, such as working in emergency services or the armed forces
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Serious health problems: Being admitted to intensive care
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Childbirth: Traumatic childbirth experiences, such as losing a baby
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Death: The death of someone close to you
Veterans are more likely to have PTSD than civilians, and veterans who deployed to a war zone are more likely to have PTSD than those who did not deploy.
Long term effects
How Children are effected by living with adults with PTSD: Children may experience anxiety, depression, or emotional instability due to the stress and unpredictability associated with living with someone with PTSD. They might also feel confusion or fear about their parent's behavior and mood swings.
The role of Biological and Epigenetic Mechanisms in Trauma and PTSD: Biological studies suggest that trauma can lead to changes in gene expression, a process known as epigenetics. This means that the effects of trauma, such as PTSD, can be "programmed" into an individual's genes and potentially passed on to their offspring. For example, alterations in stress-related genes, like those regulating cortisol production (a key hormone involved in stress response), can be inherited, making future generations more susceptible to PTSD and other stress-related disorders. Additionally, maternal PTSD has been linked to changes in fetal programming, affecting the child’s stress regulation and increasing vulnerability to mental health issues later in life
Evidence from Studies on War Veterans and Their Offspring: Studies on populations affected by large-scale traumatic events (such as war veterans) have demonstrated that PTSD symptoms and related psychological issues can manifest in the children of those affected, even decades after the initial trauma. This has been observed in various contexts, including studies on Holocaust survivors, Vietnam veterans, and other groups who have experienced severe trauma