Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41791032›Full record

Trial reportEuropean journal of psychotraumatology2026

Temporal sequencing of symptom change in youth receiving treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use: secondary findings from a randomised controlled trial.

Olivia Dobson, Natalie Peach, Joanne Cassar, Ashling Isik, Louise Bezzina, Olivia Schollar-Root, Ivana Kihas, Katherine A Dobinson, Vanessa E Cobham, Emma L Barrett and 7 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in European journal of psychotraumatology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Trial
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Olivia DobsonThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.ORCID 0009-0002-4044-9550
Natalie PeachThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Joanne CassarThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Ashling IsikThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Louise BezzinaThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Olivia Schollar-RootThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Ivana KihasThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Katherine A DobinsonThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Vanessa E CobhamSchool of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Emma L BarrettThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Sean PerrinDepartment of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Sarah BendallOrygen National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre for Youth Mental Health, Parkville, University of Melbourne, Australia.
Sudie E BackDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
Kathleen BradyDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
Bronwyn MilneDepartment of Adolescent Medicine, The Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, Sydney, Australia.
Maree TeessonThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Katherine L MillsThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUD) frequently co-occur in youth. Integrated, trauma-focused treatments are recommended, but evidence in youth is limited and the dynamics of symptom change are poorly understood.

objectivesWe investigated within-treatment changes in PTSD and substance use, and their temporal sequencing, in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) comparing integrated treatment with supportive counselling among youth aged 13-25 years.

methodParticipants (

resultsCOPE-A showed significantly greater reductions in total PTSD symptom severity during treatment (

conclusionIntegrated, trauma-focused treatment reduced PTSD symptoms, reinforcing the safety and tolerability of exposure-based therapy in this youth sample with comorbid PTSD-SUD. PTSD improvement was not associated with either concurrent or subsequent reductions in substance use. Understanding temporal patterns of change may help refine models of PTSD-SUD comorbidity and optimise intervention delivery.

Indexed as

CounselingImplosive TherapyStress Disorders, Post-TraumaticSubstance-Related DisordersAdolescentAdultFemaleHumansMaleTreatment OutcomeYoung Adultadolescentes y adultos jóvenesadolescents and young adultsensayos clínicos aleatorizadosgravedad de los síntomasjóvenesPosttraumatic stress disorderrandomised clinical trialssubstance use disordersymptom severityTrastorno de estrés postraumáticotrastorno por uso de sustanciasyouth

Identifiers

PMID41791032
PMCPMC12973828

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.