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Findings of an Early Intervention to Address Children’s Traumatic Stress Implemented in the Child Advocacy Center Setting Following Sexual Abuse

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Abstract

It has been well established that childhood exposure to abuse and trauma constitutes a major threat to children’s development, as well as to later psychiatric, physical, and behavioral health. Identification of, and early intervention with, children experiencing symptoms of traumatic stress is an important goal. The Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI) has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing children’s traumatic stress symptoms and reducing the odds of full or partial PTSD diagnosis at 3 months following end of treatment in a previous randomized controlled trial. The current chart review of CFTSI cases completed with 114 caregiver–child dyads in a Child Advocacy Center setting found that the brief, early family-strengthening intervention is effective in reducing symptoms in a diverse sample of children and adolescents who recently experienced and/or disclosed sexual abuse.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Grant 5U79SM059966-03, awarded to Steven Marans. The authors would like to acknowledge Safe Horizon’s leadership team, and staff at all Safe Horizon Child Advocacy Centers, for their contributions. In particular, we would like to recognize Nancy Arnow, without whom this project would not have been possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Hilary Hahn, Carrie Epstein, Carla Smith Stover & Steven Marans

  2. Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, New York, NY, USA

    Matthew Oransky

  3. Department of Mental Health Law and Policy, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Carla Smith Stover

  4. Yale School of Medicine Child Study Center, 100 York Street Suite 1A, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA

    Hilary Hahn

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  1. Hilary Hahn
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Correspondence to Hilary Hahn.

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Hahn, H., Oransky, M., Epstein, C. et al. Findings of an Early Intervention to Address Children’s Traumatic Stress Implemented in the Child Advocacy Center Setting Following Sexual Abuse. Journ Child Adol Trauma 9, 55–66 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-015-0059-7

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