Award Date

12-1-2015

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

First Committee Member

Christopher A. Kearney

Second Committee Member

Bradley Donohue

Third Committee Member

Michelle Paul

Fourth Committee Member

Jesse Brinson

Number of Pages

222

Abstract

Resilience following exposure to adverse life situations is an ongoing process that reduces the impact of traumatic experiences and opens potential for posttraumatic growth (Fincham, Altes, Stein, & Seedat, 2009; Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000). The relationship between resilience and risk for PTSD in maltreated youth, however, remains unclear. This study sought to explore this relationship by examining a sense of mastery, a sense of relation to others, and emotional reactivity in youth endorsing a history of maltreatment related trauma. Participants were recruited from a Las Vegas Department of Family Services affiliated clinic and were administered the Children’s PTSD Inventory (CPTSD-I) and the Resiliency Scale for Children and Adolescents (RSCA). A demographic questionnaire was also administered. Youth reporting high levels of the RSCA resource score reported lower symptoms of PTSD. A significant inverse relationship was also found between a sense of mastery and PTSD symptoms for all maltreatment types. Trauma type and the number of trauma exposures did not significantly moderate the relationship between the resource score and PTSD symptoms. Youth with higher levels of emotional reactivity reported increased PTSD symptoms compared to youth with lower levels of emotional reactivity. Implications are discussed.

Keywords

Adolecents; Maltreatment; PTSD; Resilience; Trauma; Youth

Disciplines

Psychology

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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Psychology Commons

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