Assessment of Trauma in School-Aged Children with Significant Emotional and Behavioral Challenges: A Pilot Study
Alicia Lukachko and Lisa Jenkins
February 2018
The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of exposure to childhood trauma and related disorder in a sample of children with significant emotional and behavioral problems, enrolled in a partial-hospitalization program serving the Greater Newark, New Jersey area.This exploratory study took place at a community-based, urban mental health clinic between Dec 2015 and August 2016. Study participants included children aged 8 to 16 years. To assess exposure to traumatic events, children and parents/legal guardians completed the Traumatic Events Screening Inventory (parent version, TESI-PRR; child version, TESI-C). To measure trauma-related symptoms, children completed the UCLA-PTSD Index, and the Traumatic Symptoms Checklist for Children (TSCC). A total of 30 children were enrolled in the study and 22 completed the full battery of both parent and child assessments. The most commonly reported traumatic events experienced by the children in the sample were witnessing community violence (67%) and separation from parents or caretakers(57%). Roughly 40% of children exhibited symptoms of full or partial PTSD as measured by the UCLA PTSD Index. Despite the small size of the sample, the results of this study are consistent with findings indicating that children living in impoverished urban and suburban communities face a high degree of exposure to trauma, (especially community violence) and similarly high levels of trauma-related symptomatology, thereby placing these children at risk for developing psychosocial, behavior, and academic problems. Some limitations of this study included the small sample size, incomplete child interviews, and lack of access to contextual information.
This pilot study was conducted in conjunction with the Trauma, Schools, and Poverty Project, directed by the Rutgers Law School Center for Law, Inequality, and Metropolitan Equity (CLiME). The study represented the first phase of a larger planned research effort aimed at better understanding the relationship between exposure to childhood trauma among children living in impoverished communities and psychological/behavioral problems that significantly impede academic functioning. As detailed in a comprehensive review of published literature on trauma conceptualizations, exposure, risk factors and outcomes (See Rutgers CLiME Publications, Margevich, 2016), potentially traumatic events assume multiple forms and are associated with a host of harmful mental and physical health effects, diminished cognitive capacity, and other negative life outcomes in adults and children. Trauma’s toll on low-income and non-white communities is especially heavy, with disproportionate burdens of both exposure and its detrimental effects.
One of the primary objectives of this exploratory research was to assess the prevalence and distribution of exposure to potentially traumatic events, as well as trauma-related symptoms, in a sample of children with significant emotional and behavioral problems enrolled in a partial-hospitalization program serving the Greater Newark, New Jersey area. Another main study objective was to determine the ease and feasibility of administering identified trauma assessments among this population with, as noted above, the ultimate intent of expanding screening to larger school settings and assessing impacts of trauma on school functioning.
The research was made possible through funding provided by the Rutgers Newark Chancellor Seed Grant Program, the Rutgers Law School Center for Law, Inequality and Metropolitan Equity (CLiME), and additional support provided by the former Violence Institute of New Jersey (VINJ).
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