2019 Theses Doctoral

Domains of Intellectual Functioning and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Among Traumatized Youth

Durham, Katherine

This investigation examined the association between Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; American Psychological Association, 1994) symptoms as measured by the Children’s PTSD Inventory (CPTSDI; Saigh, 2003a) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 3rd Edition (WISC-III; Wechsler, 1991) scores of 78 traumatized children (mean age = 13.42 years, SD = 2.68 years). Child diagnostic interviews determined that the participants did not have major comorbid disorders and were not taking medications that could influence cognitive functioning. Significant inverse correlations were observed between the different symptom CPTSDI clusters and the WISC-III Verbal indices. Moreover, with the exception of the WISC-III Block Design subtest, nonsignificant correlations were observed between the WISC-III Performance measures and the CPTSDI symptom clusters. Theoretical and clinical implications are considered.