Hallucinations in adolescents with post-traumatic stress disorder and psychotic disorder.

Objective: The aim of the study was to compare the phenomenology of hallucinations in hospitalized adolescents diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychotic disorder.

Methods: Diagnoses were ascertained in 66 adolescents consecutively admitted to an acute adolescent unit in Australia. Hallucinations were examined to compare their phenomenology in PTSD with psychotic disorder.

Results: On most measures, hallucinations did not differ significantly in form or content between those adolescents with PTSD and those with psychotic disorder. In a minority of patients with PTSD, the hallucinations reflected a previous traumatic experience.

Conclusions: Hallucinations were found to be unreliable in distinguishing adolescent inpatients with PTSD from those with psychotic disorder.