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Can a Healing Camp Boost Posttraumatic Growth among Children?

Can a Healing Camp Boost Posttraumatic Growth among Children?. Irene Searles McClatchey, PhD, LCSW Camp MAGIK/Kennesaw State University. Resilience. Resilience – exhibited by those who do deal with a trauma without developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms

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Can a Healing Camp Boost Posttraumatic Growth among Children?

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  1. Can a Healing Camp Boost Posttraumatic Growth among Children? Irene Searles McClatchey, PhD, LCSW Camp MAGIK/Kennesaw State University

  2. Resilience • Resilience – exhibited by those who do deal with a trauma without developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms • Exhibit problem-solving abilities, self-esteem • Sense of competence • Focus on the present and the future – repressing coping style

  3. Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) • Develop PTSD or PTSD symptoms • Grows from the experience: • New appreciation for life • Sees new possibilities • More compassion for others

  4. Posttraumatic Growth, cont. • The trauma itself does not create PTG – it is the struggle these children experience afterwards to try to understand the experience and to accept their new reality that creates PTG (Norwegian study)

  5. Resilience and PTG in a Nutshell • Resilience lets children who have experienced traumatic events to adapt well in spite of the traumatic event • PTG involves a positive alteration created by the traumatic event and subsequent struggles

  6. Sample • Children and adolescents ages six-18 • Recruited through the school system (purposive sample) • Expected losses included cancer; liver and respiratory failure; end-stage heart disease; multi-system failure (35%) • Sudden or violent losses included murder; suicide; heart attacks; drowning; car accidents; and routine surgery (65%)

  7. Sample, cont. • 65 campers were pre-tested using the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory for Children (PTGI-C) • Gender: • Males 49% • Females 51% • Ethnicities • White 62% • African American 35% • Latino 3%

  8. Sample, cont. • Type of loss • Father 46% • Mother 26% • Guardian grandparent 9% • Sibling 19% • Age • 6 – 18 • Mean 11.3 (SD=2.8) • Time since loss • 1-48 months • Mean 12.4 (SD=13.4)

  9. Instrumentation • Posttraumatic Growth Inventory for Children (PTGI-C) developed by Cryder, Kilmer, Tedeschi, & Calhoun • Self report • Likert scale • 1(Not at all true for me) • 4 (Very true for me) • Cronbach’s alpha 0.89

  10. Instrumentation, cont. • 21 questions, five domains • New possibilities – “I have new things that I like to do” • Relating to others – “I learned that some people will be there for me and help me if something bad happens” • Personal strength – “I learned that I can handle my problems” • Appreciation for life – “I feel like each day is important” • Spiritual change – “My spiritual/religious beliefs are stronger now”

  11. The Intervention • Trauma Informed Care in a Camp Setting • Telling of their stories (exposure) • Coping skills • Relaxation and breathing exercises • Cognitive restructuring • Other Activities • Identification of feelings • Journaling • Art work • Traditional camp activities

  12. Results • 32 campers completed the posttest (49%) • Paired samples t-test • Mean pre-test score=57 (SD=22.77) • Mean posttest score=68.28 (SD=10.28) • Statistically significant at the .05 level (p=0.013)

  13. Results, cont. • Predictors of PTG using multiple regression: • Objective trauma experience (p<0.01) • Age only if used as a single variable (p<0.05)

  14. Limitations • Design does not control for threats to internal validity (history, testing, maturation, dropout) • External validity – results cannot be generalized

  15. Implications for Research and Practice • Use of a controlled study • Larger and more diverse sample • Provide trauma-informed care to children bereaved by trauma

  16. References • Brewer, J., & Sparkes, A. C. (2011). Parentally bereaved children and posttraumatic growth: Insights from an ethnographic study of a UK childhood bereavement service. Mortality, 16(3), 204-222. • Brown, A. C., Sandler, I., Tein, J., Liu, X., & Haine, R. (2007). Implications of parental suicide and violent death for promotion of resilience of parentally-bereaved children. Death Studies, 31(4), 301-335. • Brown, A. C., Sandler, I., Tein, J., Liu, X., & Haine, R. (2007). Implications of parental suicide and violent death for promotion of resilience of parentally-bereaved children. Death Studies, 31(4), 301-335. • Cryder, C. H., Kilmer, R. P., Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2006). An exploratory study of posttraumatic growth in children following a natural disaster. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76(1), 65-69. • McClatchey, I. S., Barefoot, N. (2014). Can trauma-focused care improve posttraumatic growth – A pilot study. Under review.

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