A comparative analysis of the memory functioning of stress-exposed youth with and without posttraumatic stress disorder.
Item
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Title
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A comparative analysis of the memory functioning of stress-exposed youth with and without posttraumatic stress disorder.
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Identifier
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AAI9830778
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identifier
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9830778
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Creator
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Yasik, Anastasia Elizabeth.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Philip A. Saigh
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Date
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1998
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Clinical
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Abstract
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This study compared the Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning (WRAML) scores of urban youth with PTSD to the WRAML scores of stress-exposed urban youth without PTSD. A total of 131 youths were referred from Bellevue Hospital clinics subsequent to exposure to a variety of traumatic events (e.g., physical assaults, sexual assaults, motor vehicle accidents, fires). Youth with a positive history for child abuse or neglect were excluded. In order to control for the potentially confounding effects of comorbidity, youth meeting criteria for ADHD, conduct disorder, major depression, substance dependence, and schizophrenia were excluded. Similarly, youth with a documented head trauma, use of psychopharmacological agents, or mental retardation were also excluded. This process led to the identification of 16 youth with PTSD and 19 youth without PTSD. Statistical analyses revealed that there were no significant differences between comparison groups with regard to gender, ethnicity, age, and SES.;Separate ANOVAs for the four WRAML Index scores were performed. These analyses revealed significant group differences on the General Memory and Verbal Memory Indexes. Youth with PTSD scored significantly lower on the General Memory and Verbal Memory Indexes compared to stress-exposed youth without PTSD. Whereas statistically significant differences were not observed on the Visual Memory and Learning Indexes, clinically significant impairment of these Indexes was observed among youth with PTSD. Finally, three separate MANOVAs were performed to examine for group differences across the WRAML subtests. These analyses failed to reveal significant group differences across the nine WRAML subtests. As such, this study indicates that PTSD is associated with discrete patterns of memory impairment in youth. A discussion of the observed results with reference given to clinical and theoretical implications is presented. Finally, the potential limitations with reference given to implications for future research are addressed.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
