| Description |
The purpose of this thesis was to explore how adverse experiences in childhood are associated with mental health diagnoses (i.e., posttraumatic stress disorder, internalizing disorders, and externalizing disorders) and treatment outcomes for children and adolescents. The sample consisted of 219 children and adolescents ranging from ages 5-17 who were admitted into the Valley Mental Health Kids Intensive Day Services program (K.I.D.S.) and Acute Children Extended Services program (A.C.E.S.) mental health programs. The data was collected via medical record archives. Binomial logistic regressions indicated that adverse experiences in childhood were a predictor of PTSD, but were not a significant predictor of externalizing or internalizing disorders. A simple linear regression showed that adverse childhood experience (ACE) Scale score was not a significant predictor of treatment outcome, supporting the null hypothesis that the amount of change in treatment is not associated with the degree of childhood adversity experienced. The implications of the findings are discussed. |
