Objective: This study examined the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and functioning in academic and social domains.
Method: Ninety treatment-seeking adolescent females with a history of child sexual abuse (CSA) completed a trauma history interview, the Child PTSD Symptom Scale – Interview, and the Child Behavior Checklist – Youth Self-Report.
Results: PTSD symptom severity was significantly related to poorer social competence, but was not significantly related to self-reported academic performance. The Avoidance subscale was significantly related to social functioning, whereas the Arousal and Re-experiencing subscales were not.
Conclusion: The results suggest that symptoms of PTSD, and avoidance symptoms in particular, are related to decreased social functioning but not academic functioning in adolescent victims of CSA. These results are consistent with findings that PTSD is a risk factor for relationship problems in adults (e.g., McFarlane & Bookless, 2001; Riggs, Byrne, Weathers, & Litz, 1998) and suggest that the onset of social impairment may be as young as adolescence.
Keywords: Academic functioning; Adolescents; Child sexual abuse; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Social functioning.