CTDA 1009: Posttraumatic Stress and Depression in Adolescents Age 12 to 17 Seen in the Emergency Department for Violent Injury, United States, 2001-2003

Because the emergency department (ED) is often the only point of contact with the health care system for violently injured adolescents, it provides a unique opportunity to assess children following a violent injury. In violently injured teens, depressive and acute posttraumatic stress symptoms may help predict future behavioral risk factors and reinjury. The objective of this study was to examine whether emergency department (ED) assessments of depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms after an episode of interpersonal violence are associated with future risk behaviors, re-injury and posttraumatic stress symptoms in adolescents.
Injured adolescents (age 12-17 years) were assessed for posttraumatic stress and depression symptoms and self-reported risk behaviors either during or soon after (within 2 weeks) an ED visit and completed a telephone follow-up assessment between 6 and 18 months later, during which they were assessed again for self-reported risk behaviors, posttraumatic stress symptoms and re-injury.