Psychiatric Interviews With Pediatric Gunshot Patients

PROBLEM: To understand the life experiences of gunshot-injured children to obtain information about predisposing factors to injury. METHODS: A pilot study of 16 hospitalized children (14 males, 2 females) between the ages of 11 and 15 who sustained gunshot injuries. Each child was psychiatrically assessed on a medical inpatient unit after sustaining a gunshot injury to assess the rate of acute stress disorder and other comorbid psychiatric diagnoses. FINDINGS: Findings showed gunshot-injured children had a 56% rate of acute stress disorder, and 68% had a past psychiatric history. CONCLUSIONS: Gunshot-injured children require psychiatric intervention to minimize the long-term effects of acute stress disorder. Further research is needed to clarify the relationship of gunshot-injury and dysfunctional behavior and develop effective treatment options.