Psychological and Biological Theories of Child and Adolescent Traumatic Stress Disorders

The current chapter provides an overview of the leading psychobiological theories of childhood traumatic stress disorders. Incorporating learning, cognitive, biological, interpersonal, developmental, and intergenerational perspectives, these theoretical models provide clinicians with a guiding framework for conceptualizing the origins, course, and contributing (risk and protective) factors for child and adolescent traumatic stress disorders. Clinicians, therefore, have a powerful set of concepts and tools for understanding the processes that must be assessed and targeted for treatment in order to enable children, adolescents, and families to recover from traumatic stress disorders. The chapter includes a description of the biopsychosocial factors associated with the origin and course of children’s traumatic stress disorders, a review of the prominent theories of child and adolescent traumatic stress disorders and how they account for these factors, and consideration of the implications of these theories for clinical assessment and treatment of childhood traumatic stress disorders.