The similarities and differences of network structures of posttraumatic stress symptoms among Chinese adolescents exposed to three different types of trauma.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to conduct network analysis to identify the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms network structures in adolescents across three types of trauma events.

Method: After screening 20,802 students aged 10-18 years old from 27 schools, our analysis enrolled 2,234 traumatized students who were exposed to accidents (n = 622), natural disasters (n = 211), and any severe disease (n = 1,401). We conducted a network analysis to compare the PTSD symptom structures across three types of trauma events.

Results: Our findings reveal that negative emotional symptoms, such as trauma-related negative emotions, are central symptoms in adolescents across three exposures. Strong connections (i.e., trauma-related amnesia [D1] and blame of self or others [D3]) in the network were observed in the accident exposure group. Furthermore, the overall network structures in adolescents may be across exposures while the strength in edges varied in different traumas. Negative connections (i.e., nightmares [B2] and blame of self or others [D3]) showed up in disease and disaster exposure groups, while there was no negative connection in the accident exposure group.

Conclusions: Future studies should pay more attention to central symptoms like negative trauma-related emotions, which could be a target symptom of PTSD related to accidents, natural disasters, and any severe disease among adolescents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).