Adult post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients
often report a wide range of cognitive
problems in memory, concentration, attention, planning, and judgement.
Evaluation of
these cognitive aspects of PTSD in adults has helped to define the nature
of the disorder.
However, there is a paucity of such work in younger subjects. This study
has employed the
Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (RBMT) to examine cognitive factors in
children and
adolescents with PTSD. Eighteen child and adolescent patients with PTSD
and 22 control
subjects completed the test. PTSD subjects showed poorer overall memory
performance
compared with controls. Specifically, they were worse on the prospective
and orientation
items of the RBMT. The results are discussed in the light of research on
everyday memory
in adults with PTSD.