Abstract
Many factors in a child’s experience with cancer can contribute to posttraumatic stress. However, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), first identified in child cancer survivors in 1985, was not broadly recognized in the literature for more than a decade. While under-diagnosis is no longer the concern it once was, care must also be taken to avoid over-diagnosis. This case report documents a case in which a young man erroneously carried a PTSD diagnosis several years after completing treatment for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). Potential pitfalls in diagnosis and the importance of confirmatory clinical interviewing are reviewed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barakat, L., Kazak, A., Meadows, A. T., Casey, R., Meeske, K., & Stuber, M. (1997). Families surviving childhood cancer: a comparison of post-traumatic stress symptoms with families of healthy children. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 22, 843–856.
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Carbin, M. G. (1988). Psychometric properties of the Beck depression inventory: twenty-five years of evaluation. Clinical Psychology Review, 8, 77–100.
Briere, J. (1996). Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC). Odessa: Psychological Assessment Recourses.
Butler, R. W., Rizzi, L. P., & Handwerger, B. A. (1996). The assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder in pediatric cancer patients and survivors. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 21, 499–504.
Hobbie, W. L., Stuber, M., Meeske, K., Wissler, K., Rourke, M. T., Ruccione, K., et al. (2000). Symptoms of posttraumatic stress in young adult survivors of childhood cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 18, 4060–4066.
Kazak, A. E. (1998). Posttraumatic distress in childhood cancer survivors and their parents. Medical and Pediatric Oncology, 1, 60–68.
Kazak, A. E., Barakat, L. P., Meeske, K., Christakis, D., Meadows, A. T., Casey, R., et al. (1997). Postttraumatic stress, family functioning, and social support in survivors of childhood leukemia and their mothers and fathers. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 120–129.
Lanktree, C., Briere, J., & deJonge, J. (1993). Effectiveness of therapy for sexually abused children: Changes in trauma symptom checklist for children scores. Paper presented at the American Psychological Association, Toronto.
Meeske, K. A., Ruccione, K., Globe, D. R., & Stuber, M. L. (2011). Posttraumatic stress, quality of life, and psychological distress in young adult survivors of childhood cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 28, 481–489.
Nir, Y. (1985). Posttraumatic stress disorder in children with cancer. In S. Eth & R. Pynoos (Eds.), Posttraumatic stress disorder in children (pp. 123–132). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
Phipps, S., Larson, S., Long, A., & Rai, S. N. (2006). Adaptive style and symptoms of posttraumatic stress in children with cancer and their parents. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 31, 298–309.
Plante, T. G. (2011). Contemporary clinical psychology. Hoboken: Wiley.
Rourke, M. T., Hobbie, W. L., Schwartz, L., & Kazak, A. E. (2007). Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in young adult survivors of childhood cancer. Pediatric Blood & Cancer, 49, 177–182.
Sadowski, C. M., & Friedrich, W. N. (2000). Psychometric properties of the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC) with psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents. Child Maltreatment, 5, 364–372.
Stuber, M., Christakis, D. A., Houskamp, B., & Kazak, A. E. (1996). Posttrauma symptoms in childhood leukemia survivors and their parents. Psychosomatics, 37, 254–264.
Stuber, M. L., Kazak, A. E., Meeske, K., Barakat, L., Guthrie, D., Garnier, H., et al. (1997). Predictors of posttraumatic stress symptoms in childhood cancer survivors. Pediatrics, 100, 958–964.
Wolpaw, J. M., Ford, J. D., Newman, E., Davis, J., & Briere, J. (2005). Trauma symptoms checklist for children. In T. Grisso & D. Seagrave (Eds.), Handbook of mental health screening and assessment for juvenile justice (pp. 152–165). New York: Guilford.
Zebrack, B. J., Zeltzer, L. K., Whitton, J., Mertens, A. C., Odom, L., Berkow, R., et al. (2002). Psychological outcomes in long-term survivors of childhood leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma: a report from the childhood cancer survivor study. Pediatrics, 110, 42–52.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ubogy, S., Olson, K.J. The Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children and Misdiagnosis of PTSD in A Youth with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia: A Brief Report. Journ Child Adol Trauma 7, 13–15 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-014-0004-1
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-014-0004-1