Factors that Influence the Effectiveness of Children’s Trauma Treatment

Chua, Wan Zhen (2026) Factors that Influence the Effectiveness of Children’s Trauma Treatment. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

Background. There has been growing interest in understanding factors that impact the efficacy of trauma-focused psychotherapeutic interventions and mechanisms through which the interventions are effective to allow treatment optimisation. Methodological limitations, however, exist in current meta-analyses and systematic reviews. Evidence regarding how parental psychopathology affects child’s trauma treatment response appears mixed and limited.

Methods. This thesis aimed to understand the factors that influence the effectiveness of children’s trauma treatment. To this end, a systematic review was performed to understand the moderators and mediators of PTSD treatment for children and adolescents. Then, an empirical study was conducted to examine the association between parental psychopathology and child’s trauma symptomatology before treatment, and investigate the moderating effects of parental psychopathology on child’s trauma treatment outcome.

Results. The systematic review included 16 studies. Most moderating and mediating factors were studied by only a single study. Little to no evidence was found for age, gender, and race in moderating treatment outcomes. Support was found for the mediating effect of post-traumatic cognitive appraisal, trauma memory quality, and rumination on treatment outcomes in the child and adolescent population. In the empirical study, parental depression appeared to modestly moderate treatment effectiveness; CT-PTSD yielded greater benefits relative to TAU at higher levels of parental depression. This moderation effect was not sustained at follow-up and was absent for parental anxiety and PTSD.

Conclusions. Findings suggest that trauma-focused interventions could be beneficial across diverse child and adolescent populations. Cognitive processes like post-traumatic cognitive appraisal, trauma memory quality, and rumination appeared to explain treatment effects, highlighting the importance of targeting these components during interventions. The moderation results pointed to the potential for CT-PTSD to benefit children whose parents have more severe mental health needs.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	11 Nov 2026 15:13
Last Modified:	11 Nov 2026 15:13
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/105086
DOI:

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