NCJ Number
223988
Journal
Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Dated: 2008 Pages: 92-109
Date Published
2008
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article examines symptoms of post-traumatic stress in homeless adolescents and outlines an intervention model to mitigate the symptoms.
Abstract
The article concludes that the integrated, culturally sensitive model of initial treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in youth who are homeless is limited in several areas. Specifically, it does not address many PTSD symptoms associated with persistent re-experiencing of traumatic events, avoidance of traumatic stimuli, numbing of general responsiveness, and increased arousal. This article presents a model to address the symptoms and needs of unaccompanied homeless youth who PTSD symptomatology and offers a strength-based intervention framework for understanding, identifying, and beginning to address trauma-related mental health needs within the cultural context and experience of youth homelessness. The objective of the model is not to eradicate the PTSD symptoms of a homeless youth, but to mitigate the symptoms to the extent they are no longer hindering service utilization, placing the youth at risk for additional harm, or preventing them from conceptualizing the possibility of a healthier, safer, non-homeless future. Homeless adolescents are said to comprise a population particularly vulnerable to developing symptoms of post-traumatic stress, and research has shown that prevalence of trauma-related symptoms among homeless youth living in shelters and on the streets without families is approximately 18 percent. The detrimental effects of traumatic experiences often inhibit homeless youths' ability to employ the psychosocial skills necessary to a transition out of homelessness. Consequently, interventions targeting the mitigation of post-traumatic stress symptoms among this population are noted as being crucial. References