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PTSD in Children Below the Age of 6 Years

  • Disaster Psychiatry: Trauma, PTSD, and Related Disorders (MJ Friedman, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

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.

Summary

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).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Child Health Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Level 7, 62 Graham Street, South Brisbane, QLD, 4101, Australia

    Alexandra C. De Young

  2. Division of Child and Adolescent Health Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Markus A. Landolt

  3. Department of Psychosomatics and Psychiatry, University Children’s Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Markus A. Landolt

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  1. Alexandra C. De Young
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Correspondence to Alexandra C. De Young.

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Alexandra C. De Young and Markus A. Landolt declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Disaster Psychiatry: Trauma, PTSD, and Related Disorders

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De Young, A.C., Landolt, M.A. PTSD in Children Below the Age of 6 Years. Curr Psychiatry Rep 20, 97 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-018-0966-z

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