TY - JOUR
T1 - Involvement in litigation in children with PTSD following motor vehicle accident
T2 - Associations with emotional distress and treatment outcomes
AU - Shorer, Maayan
AU - Fennig, Silvana
AU - Apter, Alan
AU - Pilowsky Peleg, Tammy
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2021/7/1
Y1 - 2021/7/1
N2 - Objectives: Litigation is common in the context of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI), adding contradicting motivations to individuals' engagement in psychotherapeutic interventions. This study's main goal was to explore the relationship between litigation status and emotional distress among children with PTSD following motor vehicle accidents (MVAs). We also present preliminary findings from a pilot study on treatment efficacy for children with PTSD, with and without litigation. Methods: Participants included 76 children with PTSD following MVA and their main caregiving parent. The associations between litigation status (litigation involvement, litigation phase, and litigation's emotional impact) and children's global distress, PTSD, persistent post-concussion symptoms (PPCS), and sub-optimal effort, and parents' PTSD symptoms were assessed before and after intervention for PTSD. Comorbid mTBI was explored as a possible moderating factor. Results: Involvement in litigation was not related to children's and parents' pre-intervention distress, nor to the presence of mTBI or to children's effort. However, higher emotional impact of litigation on parents was associated with children's higher PPCS pre-intervention. A pilot study on intervention outcomes found an improvement both in children with and without litigation involvement. A greater decrease in PPCS following intervention was found in children of parents with higher emotional impact of litigation. Conclusions: The emotional impact of litigation on parents should be considered while addressing children in litigation context. However, this study's preliminary findings suggest that children with litigation involvement may benefit from treatment, thus litigation should not serve solely as an exclusion criterion for psychological intervention. A larger study should further explore this issue.
AB - Objectives: Litigation is common in the context of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI), adding contradicting motivations to individuals' engagement in psychotherapeutic interventions. This study's main goal was to explore the relationship between litigation status and emotional distress among children with PTSD following motor vehicle accidents (MVAs). We also present preliminary findings from a pilot study on treatment efficacy for children with PTSD, with and without litigation. Methods: Participants included 76 children with PTSD following MVA and their main caregiving parent. The associations between litigation status (litigation involvement, litigation phase, and litigation's emotional impact) and children's global distress, PTSD, persistent post-concussion symptoms (PPCS), and sub-optimal effort, and parents' PTSD symptoms were assessed before and after intervention for PTSD. Comorbid mTBI was explored as a possible moderating factor. Results: Involvement in litigation was not related to children's and parents' pre-intervention distress, nor to the presence of mTBI or to children's effort. However, higher emotional impact of litigation on parents was associated with children's higher PPCS pre-intervention. A pilot study on intervention outcomes found an improvement both in children with and without litigation involvement. A greater decrease in PPCS following intervention was found in children of parents with higher emotional impact of litigation. Conclusions: The emotional impact of litigation on parents should be considered while addressing children in litigation context. However, this study's preliminary findings suggest that children with litigation involvement may benefit from treatment, thus litigation should not serve solely as an exclusion criterion for psychological intervention. A larger study should further explore this issue.
KW - Children
KW - Intervention efficacy
KW - Litigation
KW - Mild traumatic brain injury
KW - Post-traumatic stress disorder
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85106238883&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ijlp.2021.101711
DO - 10.1016/j.ijlp.2021.101711
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C2 - 34010757
AN - SCOPUS:85106238883
SN - 0160-2527
VL - 77
JO - International Journal of Law and Psychiatry
JF - International Journal of Law and Psychiatry
M1 - 101711
ER -
