| Abstract [eng] |
Traumatic events trigger a range of reactions, the expression of which may differ between adolescents and adults. It has been shown that young people who have experienced threatening events often report distressing physical symptoms. Although this is typically associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there is a lack of data on the role of deeper difficulties in self-organisation in the presentation of adolescents' somatic complaints. The aim of the present study was to assess the associations between traumatic experiences, complex post-traumatic stress and somatic complaints in a sample of adolescents. 149 adolescents aged 16-19 years, 52.3% of whom were girls participated in the study. This study used a demographic data questionnaire, the Child and Adolescent Trauma Screen - List of events (CATS List of Events), the International Trauma Questionnaire – Child and Adolescent Version (ITQ-CA) and the Children's Somatic Symptom Inventory (CSSI-8). The results showed that 59.1% of adolescents had experienced at least one traumatic event, and 11.4% were at risk of complex PTSD (CPTSD). Stronger somatic symptomatology was associated with a higher number of traumatic experiences and more pronounced CPTSD symptoms. Adolescents at risk of CPTSD had more severe somatic complaints than adolescents at risk of PTSD and the comparison group. CPTSD and its symptom clusters emerged as partial mediators of the relationship between the number of traumatic events and somatic complaints. |
