COMORBIDITY OF PSYCHIATRIC DIAGNOSES WITH POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS-DISORDER IN SURVIVORS OF CHILDHOOD TRAUMA

Objective: This study examines posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) sy mptoms, trauma exposure, gender, and diagnostic comorbidity in a sampl e of 59 Cambodian young adults (29 male and 30 female) who survived ma ssive trauma as children. Method: Psychiatric diagnoses were made usin g the Structured Clinical interview for DSM-III-R-Non-Patient version, a structured diagnostic interview, and trauma exposure was measured w ith a Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire. Results: A significant numb er of those with PTSD (59%) had one or more additional DSM-III-R Axis I disorders. Major depression and generalized anxiety disorder were th e most common comorbid disorders. Somatoform pain disorder was also fo und to coexist with PTSD but only among females. Women were also found to have higher levels of both current and lifetime PTSD symptoms. Con clusion: Trauma symptoms were related to exposure and exposure was rel ated to age, but age was not related to symptoms. The findings suggest that the significant levels of comorbid diagnoses previously found to exist with PTSD in people traumatized as adults can be found among su rvivors of massive childhood trauma. Also, the rate of PTSD diagnoses found in this sample 15 years after the trauma of Pol Pot is comparabl e to findings previously reported in studies of Cambodian youths and s hows that the effects of trauma experienced in childhood persist into early adulthood.