2024-10-21 15:30:00
Psychiatrist Hala Kerbage, head of the regional child-adolescent psychotrauma center at Montpellier University Hospital, created in 2023, author of I support my child facing trauma (Ellipses, 2022), deciphers post-traumatic stress in children and adolescents. Of Lebanese origin, she also worked in Beirut, between 2014 and 2020.
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How is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) different in children and adolescents?
The key symptoms are quite similar to those of adults: re-experiences [répétition ou réapparition d’une scène traumatique]hypervigilance – the child will startle easily and be on the lookout for the slightest danger –, avoidance of anything that may make him think of the trauma… To this can be added various emotional and behavioral difficulties, more or less intense: sadness, irritability, fear, mood swings, behavioral problems, difficulty concentrating, etc.
Episodes of psychological dissociation are also very common, where the child seems elsewhere, looking vaguely. And the younger the child, the more the symptoms will manifest themselves in behavioral problems, even more so if he or she does not yet have the necessary verbalization skills. The preschool child will repeat the traumatic event through play and drawing.
It is also common for children and adolescents to withdraw, have difficulty communicating, or develop symptoms of opposition to parental authority. Adolescents are more likely to develop suicidal thoughts or behaviors, self-harm, risky behavior, drug or alcohol use. This can interfere with crucial developmental periods during childhood and adolescence. This is why you must be very vigilant and act quickly.
Certainly, in the majority of cases, these manifestations diminish over time and eventually disappear, while 60% of those under 18 in the world have been exposed at least once, in 2023, to a traumatic event. After a single exposure (car accident, earthquake, etc.), studies show that 80% of children and adolescents will return to their “basic” functioning, while 20% of them will develop a stress disorder. post-traumatic or other associated disorders (depression, anxiety, etc.). However, in the case of repetitive and prolonged trauma, if there has been interpersonal violence with intention to harm (sexual, physical), it is unfortunately much more common.
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