Do Psychological Treatments for PTSD in Children and Young People Reduce Trauma- Related Appraisals? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Smith, Charlotte; Ford, Catherine; Baldwin, George; Jensen, Tine K.; Karatzias, Thanos; Skogbrott Birkeland, Marianne; Meiser-Stedman, Richard

Abstract

Research is increasingly highlighting the role of negative trauma-related appraisals in child and adolescent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The cognitive model of PTSD claims that an essential mechanism of treatment is a reduction in these appraisals. The current systematic review with meta-analysis investigated the extent to which psychological treatments for PTSD reduce negative trauma-related appraisals in children and adolescents. Four databases (PsycINFO, Medline Complete, CINAHL Complete and PTSDpubs) were searched on the 11-12th December 2022. The Risk of Bias 2 (ROB-2) tool was used to assess for risk of bias. Thirteen studies were included in this review, comprising 937 child and adolescent participants. Using a random effects model to perform the meta-analysis, a medium pooled effect size for the effect of current treatments on trauma-related appraisals was found (g = -.67, 95% CI [-.86, -.48]). There was only a moderate level of heterogeneity between studies (I2= 44.4%), increasing the confidence with which these findings can be interpreted. These results indicate that psychological treatments for child and adolescent PTSD significantly reduce negative trauma-related appraisals. However, it is important to note that no trial included in the review was categorised as having low risk of bias.

Citation

Smith, C., Ford, C., Baldwin, G., Jensen, T. K., Karatzias, T., Skogbrott Birkeland, M., & Meiser-Stedman, R. (2024). Do Psychological Treatments for PTSD in Children and Young People Reduce Trauma- Related Appraisals? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 182, Article 104621. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2024.104621

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 24, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Aug 26, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024-11
• Deposit Date: Aug 26, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 27, 2026
• Print ISSN: 0005-7967
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 182
• Article Number: 104621
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2024.104621
• Keywords: PTSD, child, appraisals, trauma, meta-analysis, systematic review
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/behaviour-research-and-therapy