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Psychological and Biological Theories of Child and Adolescent Traumatic Stress Disorders

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Evidence-Based Treatments for Trauma Related Disorders in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

In order to assess and treat child and adolescent traumatic stress disorders, clinicians need a guiding theoretical framework for conceptualizing the origins, course, and contributing (risk and protective) factors for these disorders. The current chapter therefore provides an overview of the leading psychobiological theories of childhood traumatic stress disorders. The chapter begins with a brief historical chronology of the dominant theories, followed by a summary of the scientific research that has informed theory development in the traumatic stress field. Then the major current theories of child and adolescent traumatic stress disorders are described, including learning/conditioning, cognitive/information processing, interpersonal/resources, developmental, and intergenerational theories. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications of these theories for clinical assessment and treatment of childhood traumatic stress disorders.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Connecticut Schools of Medicine and Law, 263 Farmington Avenue MC1410 L4055, Farmington, CT, 06030-1410, USA

    Julian D. Ford PhD, ABPP

  2. University of Connecticut Health Center, 65 Kane Street, West Hartford, CT, 06119, USA

    Carolyn A. Greene PhD

Authors
  1. Julian D. Ford PhD, ABPP
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  2. Carolyn A. Greene PhD
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Correspondence to Julian D. Ford PhD, ABPP .

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Editors and Affiliations

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

    Markus A. Landolt

  2. Division of Dissemination and Training, National Center for PTSD, Palo Alto, California, USA

    Marylène Cloitre

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Ulrich Schnyder

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Ford, J.D., Greene, C.A. (2017). Psychological and Biological Theories of Child and Adolescent Traumatic Stress Disorders. In: Landolt, M., Cloitre, M., Schnyder, U. (eds) Evidence-Based Treatments for Trauma Related Disorders in Children and Adolescents. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46138-0_5

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