Adolescents' positive and negative reactions to participation in trauma-focused research and their associations with PTSD and complex PTSD.
Zelviene Paulina P, Kairyte Agniete A, Pakeltytė Ema E, Kazlauskas Evaldas E
Background: Previous studies have investigated the levels of distress reported by children and adolescents while participating in trauma-focused research. However, the role of complex PTSD in responses to participation in trauma-focused research is unknown. The aim of the study was to investigate adolescents' positive and negative reactions to trauma-focused research and their associations with lifetime trauma exposure, PTSD, and complex PTSD.Methods: The sample comprised 834 school-based adolescents (40.9% boys), aged 13-18 years (M = 16.17, SD = 1.34) from the general population. Lifetime trauma exposure was measured using the Child and Adolescent Trauma Screen (CATS); PTSD and complex PTSD were measured with the Child and Adolescent version of the International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ-CA). Positive and negative responses to research were measured with the short version of the Reactions to Research Participation Questionnaire for Children (RRPQ-C).Results: Most adolescents reported neutral or positive reactions to participation: 73.4% did not feel upset or sad, 81.4% did not regret participating, 34.3% reported being glad about participating, and 61.0% felt good about helping. 6.6% reported feeling upset. Lifetime trauma exposure was reported by 74.5% of participants (M = 2.18, SD = 2.18); 6.8% met criteria for PTSD, and 13.1% for complex PTSD. Lifetime trauma exposure, PTSD, and complex PTSD were associated with feeling upset or sad, as well as being glad to participate. PTSD increased the odds of negative reactions to research 2.07 times, and complex PTSD 5.78 times. On the other hand, 42.2% of those with complex PTSD reported being glad they had participated.Conclusions: Adolescents generally responded positively to participating in the study. However, complex PTSD was associated with a higher likelihood of research-related distress, highlighting the need for tailored safety and risk protocols for adolescents with complex PTSD.