Diagnostic Spectrum of Trauma-Related Disorders in Children and Adolescents

There is a large body of evidence showing that young children and adolescents can develop mental health problems after experiencing traumatic events, and studies are consistently documenting the differential effects of trauma on children and their development (Danese and Widom, JAMA Psychiatry 80:1009–1016, 2023; Lewis et al., Lancet Psychiatry 6:247–256, 2019; Straussner and Calnan, Clin Soc Work J 42:323–335, 2014; Teicher and Samson, J Child Psychol Psychiatry 57:241–266, 2016). However, in the revisions of the DSM and ICD classification systems, little attention is dedicated to developmental aspects. Hopefully, as the field moves forward, future studies on the validity of these diagnostic categories and criteria for children and adolescents will evolve. In this chapter, we discuss some developmental aspects of trauma exposure and present the latest revisions of the ICD-11 and DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for acute stress, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complex PTSD, attachment disorders, and the new disorder of prolonged grief.