Toward a Developmental Model of Continuity and Change in PTSD Symptoms following Exposure to Traumatic and Adverse Experiences.

A developmental understanding of the expression of posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms following trauma in childhood requires identifying continuity and change in not just overall symptoms but in the individual symptoms as well. Such models of change also require understanding multiple dimensions of time. That is, longitudinal change-the passage of time-may have different effects on symptom expression depending on when in time an individual entered the study - such as what age they were when first assessed. This paper addresses these ideas with an overview of the developmental differences in the assessment of PTS from the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, (DSM-5), longitudinal research on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and providing synthesis within a symptom network perspective. We then provide an illustration of how individual PTSD symptoms change over time at different ages (elementary versus middle school) with a secondary analysis of data from a previously reported study (n = 191 youth, aged 8-15, assessed at two time points six months apart). The reanalysis of the data suggests both continuity and change in symptoms over time (i.e., some symptoms were more stable than other symptoms) with differences in symptom rates and their longitudinal change as a function of age (i.e., some symptoms more common or more stable in younger versus older or older versus younger). We close with avenues for future research aimed at better understanding symptom cascades over time and at different ages and potential implications for future iterations of assessment/classification systems.

Impact of anxiety and depression on academic achievement among underserved school children: evidence of suppressor effects.

Anxiety and depression symptoms may leave children at risk for lower academic scores, though this unique linkage to academic achievement in underserved youth is less well established. This study aimed to examine how anxiety and depression are uniquely related to spelling and math achievement beyond attention and hyperactivity deficits in children in underserved schools. Children aged 8 to 11 (n = 1085, 47.3% female) from historically underserved groups (Hispanic 75.3%, American Indian 6.4%, Black 4.9%, and White 1.5%) from 13 schools across two public school districts in California participated in the assessment of emotional and behavioral health symptoms that included a spelling and math assessment. While there was no relationship between anxiety or hyperactivity on spelling and math scores, depression and attention problems were significantly negatively related to spelling and math scores. However, when entered simultaneously, evidence of suppressor effects emerged. Anxiety and hyperactivity both became positively predictive of math. Similarly, anxiety became positively predictive of spelling. Subsample analyses showed that these suppressor effects were only in females. The associations among anxiety, depression, attention, and hyperactivity with spelling and math achievement are complex, and when controlling for depression and attention, anxiety levels and hyperactivity may be motivating some level of achievement in these areas.