Differences in the diagnosis and treatment decisions for children in care compared to their peers: An experimental study on post-traumatic stress disorder.
Objectives: Despite evidence of high rates of diagnosable mental health difficulties in children in care, there remains ongoing debate around the appropriateness of traditional diagnoses and treatments. The aim of this study was to quantitatively explore whether mental health diagnosis and treatment...
| Published in: | British Journal of Clinical Psychology Vol. 61; no. 4; pp. 1075 - 1089 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
Nov2022
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=161423842&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 161423842 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 01446657 99B jtl: British Journal of Clinical Psychology issn: 01446657 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Nov2022 vid: 61 iid: 4 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell place: Malden, Massachusetts artinfo: ui: 161423842 157427262 161423842 161423842 10.1111/bjc.12379 161423842 ppf: 1075 ppct: 14 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Differences in the diagnosis and treatment decisions for children in care compared to their peers: An experimental study on post-traumatic stress disorder. aug: au: McGuire, Rosie Halligan, Sarah L. Meiser-Stedman, Richard Durbin, Lucy Hiller, Rachel M. affil: Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK. sug: subj: Foster Home Care Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Diagnosis Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Therapy Decision Making, Clinical Healthcare Disparities Human Funding Source Experimental Studies Comparative Studies Quantitative Studies United Kingdom Surveys Child Child: 6-12 years ab: Objectives: Despite evidence of high rates of diagnosable mental health difficulties in children in care, there remains ongoing debate around the appropriateness of traditional diagnoses and treatments. The aim of this study was to quantitatively explore whether mental health diagnosis and treatment decision-making differed when a young person was identified as being in care, specifically focused on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a trauma-specific mental health disorder with rates substantially higher in children in care versus their peers. Methods: Participants were 270 UK mental health professionals who completed an online survey. Participants were randomized to receive one of two vignettes, which were identical in their description of a teenage boy experiencing PTSD symptoms, except in one he was in foster care and in the other he lived with his mother. Participants were asked to select a primary diagnosis, treatment approach, and potential secondary diagnosis. Results: Professionals were twice as likely to choose a primary diagnosis of PTSD and a National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE)-recommended PTSD treatment when randomized to the mother vignette versus the foster carer vignette. Selecting PTSD as the primary diagnosis made clinicians three times more likely to select a NICErecommended treatment for PTSD. Developmental trauma was the most common ‘diagnosis’ for both groups, although this led to different treatment decisions. Conclusions: In the context of PTSD, we found children in care face diagnosis and treatment decision-making biases. Practice implications are discussed. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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