Award Date

5-1-2013

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

First Committee Member

Christopher A. Kearney

Second Committee Member

Laurel Pritchard

Third Committee Member

Cortney Warren

Fourth Committee Member

Margaret Oakes

Number of Pages

243

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder in maltreated youth is a young and burgeoning field. Lemos-Miller and Kearney (2006) were among the first to propose and test a theoretically and empirically-based model of PTSD in maltreated youth. The present study replicated and evaluated the Lemos-Miller and Kearney model within a larger and more diverse sample of maltreated adolescents. First, the Lemos-Miller and Kearney model was tested via structural equation modeling (SEM). Second, the model was evaluated across age, gender, and ethnicity. Third, trauma history, family environment (i.e., cohesion and conflict), dissociation, and trauma-related cognitions were evaluated as potential mediating variables within the model. The Lemos-Miller and Kearney model of PTSD met goodness-of-fit criteria for the overall sample. The model also met goodness-of-fit criteria for older (ages 14-17 years) and younger (ages 11-13 years), females, and European American and multiracial youth, but failed to meet goodness-of-fit criteria for males, African American and Hispanic groups. Trauma history, family conflict, dissociation, and trauma-related cognitions were each found to mediate the relationship between comorbid symptoms and PTSD within the Lemos-Miller and Kearney model. Findings are discussed in the context of implications for assessment and treatment and further development of empirically-supported and theoretical models of PTSD in youth.

Keywords

Abused children; Child abuse; Depression; Depression; Mental; Maltreatment; Post-traumatic Stress Disorder; Post-traumatic stress disorder in children; Trauma; Youth

Disciplines

Child Psychology | Clinical 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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