PTSD in Children Below the Age of 6 Years.

De Young AC; Landolt MA

doi:10.1007/s11920-018-0966-z

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Journal article

PTSD in Children Below the Age of 6 Years.

De Young AC Child Health Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Level 7, 62 Graham Street, South Brisbane, QLD, 4101, Australia. adeyoung@uq.edu.au.
Landolt MA Division of Child and Adolescent Health Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

2018-09-18

Published in:

Current psychiatry reports. - 2018

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

International Classification of Diseases

Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

English PURPOSE OF REVIEW
This review summarizes the latest evidence and developments in the validation of PTSD diagnostic criteria for children 6 years and under (PTSD<6Y), discusses the limitations of the current diagnostic criteria, and highlights areas for future research.

RECENT FINDINGS
Research has found that the DSM-5 PTSD<6Y, and a similar version in the DC:0-5, currently provides the most developmentally sensitive classification of PTSD for young children. In contrast, preliminary evidence suggests that the ICD-11 criteria might not appropriately capture PTSD in young children. The inclusion of PTSD<6Y, the first developmental subtype in the DSM-5, represents an important step towards having a diagnostic system that is developmentally sensitive and relevant across the life span. However, further validation work and research with regard to the definition of trauma and functional impairment as well as with the age-appropriate description of symptoms is needed, especially in the youngest age group (0-3 years).

Language