Award Date

8-1-2014

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

First Committee Member

Christopher A. Kearney

Second Committee Member

Michelle G. Paul

Third Committee Member

Laurel M. Pritchard

Fourth Committee Member

Jesse A. Brinson

Number of Pages

178

Abstract

Childhood maltreatment is associated with increased risk for lifetime and current PTSD (Davis & Siegel, 2000; Widom, 1999). This study examined a model of PTSD in which dissociation, depression, and posttraumatic cognitions related to heightened PTSD symptoms for maltreated youths. This study then evaluated the model's fit across variations in intelligence, gender, age, ethnicity, and maltreatment type. Participants (n=360) included youths from Department of Family Services-related sites in Las Vegas. The first hypothesis was that the model would display goodness-of-fit across various indices. The second hypothesis was that the model would better fit youths with below average intelligence (FSIQ = 55-84) than youths with average intelligence (FSIQ = 85-114). The third and fourth hypotheses were that the model would better fit females than males and younger youths (aged 9-13 years) than older youths (aged 14-18 years). The fifth and sixth hypotheses were that the model would better fit multiracial, Hispanic, and African American youths than Caucasian youths, as well as victims of sexual maltreatment than victims of neglect, physical maltreatment, or multiple maltreatment types. Hypotheses were tested via structural equation modeling using EQS. Hypothesis one was supported. Hypotheses two, three, and four were not supported. Hypotheses five and six were partially supported. Findings and clinical implications are discussed.

Keywords

Child abuse; Childhood maltreatment; PTSD; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Post-traumatic stress disorder – Risk factors; Risk factors; Trauma-related symptoms

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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