Investigating linguistic coherence relations in child sexual abuse: A comparison of PTSD and non-PTSD children

BACKGROUND: Language is the most common way to communicate internal states and emotions into a narrative form. Studies on the use of language provide a useful understanding of how people process an event and interpret it. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of PTSD on the narrative coherence of children's reports of sexual abuse. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: = 10; range: 4-16), who were victims of sexual abuse. Thirty-seven children presented the symptoms for a diagnosis of PTSD. METHOD: Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC) was employed and narrative coherence was analyzed through some linguistic markers (first-person singular pronouns, conjunctions, and cognitive words). Regression analyses were used to examine if age and PTSD were predictors of the narrative coherence, suggesting the effects of PTSD in predicting the use of the first-person singular pronouns and the conjunctions. CONCLUSION: This study could underline the importance of considering the PTSD in legal testimony of children who have been sexually abused.