Prevalence of trauma, PTSD, and dissociation in court-referred adolescents

This study examines the prevalence of trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and dissociative symptoms in adolescents. The sample consisted of 76 females and 76 males, between the ages of 12 and 18, referred to the Child Guidance Clinic of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for a psychological evaluation. Two sets of analyses were conducted. One set included the entire sample; the second set excluded those individuals whose listed referral problem included only being a victim of abuse. Results of the study suggest a high prevalence of trauma in both genders; however, females had significantly higher rates than those reported in males. Similarly, female adolescents demonstrated significantly higher prevalence rates of PTSD symptoms compared with their male counterparts in the entire sample and showed a trend toward significance in the analysis of the subsample. There was a low prevalence of dissociative symptoms across both genders.