I’ll be working my way back: A qualitative synthesis on the trauma experience of children

Children who experience some kind of traumatic event, such as losing a sibling, witnessing war, or being the victim of abuse or an accident, all have the need to process this event. Few theories exist about the development of posttraumatic stress disorder, specifically in traumatized children. Therefore, a synthesis of qualitative research is conducted in which the available qualitative studies on the children's perspective on traumatic experiences are integrated. A total of 17 English-language peer-reviewed articles were selected and a thematic synthesis was carried out. The core themes in the findings pertain to three domains: the individual, the family, and the community. We found a qualitative synthesis beneficial for creating a complete picture of children dealing with trauma and for strengthening the emerging theory. © 2011 American Psychological Association.