Abstract / Summary
Abstract Background: The Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI) is a brief, evidence-based, trauma-focused treatment developed specifically for implementation with children and caregivers in the early phase of trauma response. CFTSI has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and interrupting the development of posttraumatic stress disorder among trauma-exposed school-aged children and adolescents and their participating caregivers. Objective : This pilot study evaluated preliminary outcomes associated with CFTSI for Young Children (CFTSI-YC), a specialized treatment application tailored to meet the unique clinical and developmental needs of children aged 3 to 6. Participants/Setting : We used de-identified clinical data from 50 racially and ethnically diverse caregiver-child dyads who completed CFTSI-YC.
Methods: We examined whether completing CFTSI-YC was associated with statistically significant and clinically meaningful reductions in PTSS for preschoolers and participating caregivers. We also evaluated whether CFTSI-YC was associated with comparable outcomes across demographic groups and trauma types. Finally, we examined post-treatment disposition by determining whether treating clinicians referred children for additional trauma-focused treatment at the completion of CFTSI-YC.
Results: Paired samples t-tests revealed significant reductions in child PTSS (Cohen’s d = .76, p < .001) and caregiver PTSS (Cohen’s d = .65, p < .001) from pre- to post-treatment. CFTSI-YC was associated with comparable symptom reduction across child gender, age, racial background, and trauma histories. At the completion of CFTSI-YC, 80% of participating children were not referred for additional trauma-focused treatment.
Conclusion: If replicated, findings suggest that CFTSI-YC may be a promising early intervention for young children and caregivers following potentially traumatic events.