Linguistic Analysis as a Method for Assessing Symptoms After Sexual Trauma Among Female Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatients

ABSTRACT

Using a sample of female psychiatric inpatient adolescents, the current study aimed to extend this literature to an adolescent sample for the first time by examining if linguistic markers and their subcategories (cognitive process words, pronoun use, and somatosensory detail) in a trauma account are related to trauma symptomology and recovery during inpatient care. Results indicated that greater use of body words and fewer insight words were related to increased trauma symptoms at admission. In addition, use of fewer cognitive process words at admission predicted greater symptom change at discharge, extending previous research findings to an adolescent sample. Findings suggest that linguistic analysis may be an important component of adolescent trauma symptom assessment and treatment monitoring.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescent
• clinical issues
• measurement issues
• sexual abuse
• treatment
• victim

Compliance with ethical standards

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kaisa Marshall

Kaisa Marshall, Department of Psychology, Sam Houston State University.

Amanda Venta

Amanda Venta, Department of Psychology, Sam Houston State University.

Craig Henderson

Craig Henderson, Department of Psychology, Sam Houston State University.

Maria Barker

Maria Barker, Department of Foreign Language, Sam Houston State University.

Carla Sharp

Carla Sharp, Department of Psychology, University of Houston.