The Inter-Connectedness of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptomatology Across the Lifespan

The Inter-Connectedness of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptomatology Across the Lifespan | Research Square Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article The Inter-Connectedness of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptomatology Across the Lifespan Nimrod Hertz-Palmor, David Johnston, Caitlin Hitchcock, Melissa Black, and 8 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8723122/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract PTSD is defined by a core of inter-connected symptom clusters. It is currently unclear whether this pattern of interconnections remains stable across the lifespan or differs across key developmental periods. Synthesising seven international trauma-exposed samples (N=5,470), we compared network interrelationships among core self-reported and/or caregiver-reported PTSD symptom clusters (re-experiencing, avoidance and arousal) in preschoolers, school-aged children, adolescents, and adults. For self-report from school-age to adulthood, within-cluster connectivity (associations among symptoms within the same cluster) was consistently stronger than between-cluster connectivity (associations among symptoms from different clusters) across all age groups. This was especially true for the re-experiencing symptom cluster. These inter-relationships appeared stable across with lifecourse with no significant age-related differences. In contrast, caregiver reports from preschool to adolescence, showed stronger within-cluster connectivity among arousal symptoms but these only emerged in school-aged children and adolescents. Longitudinal analyses across approximately the first year post-trauma of self-report symptoms indicated that adults’ overall symptom connectivity increased over time, whereas school-aged children’s and adolescents’ networks became sparser. These findings suggest that while PTSD network architecture is broadly stable across different age groups, reporter discrepancies and temporal dynamics warrant close attention, especially with regards to less visible, internalised symptoms such as re-experiencing. Biological sciences/Psychology Scientific community and society/Social sciences/Psychology Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryMaterialPTSDNetworksAlternativeAlgorithmandsamplecomposition.docx Supplementary Material - Alternative Algorithm and sample composition SupplementaryMaterialPTSDNetworksstabilityandaccuracy.docx Supplementary Material - stability and accuracy Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information

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