Background Scant information exists on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and structure in youth from developing countries. Methods We describe the symptom profile and exposure to trauma experiences among 343 orphan and vulnerable children and adolescents from Zambia. We distinguished profiles of posttraumatic stress symptoms using latent class analysis. Results Average number of trauma‐related symptoms (21.6; range 0–38) was similar across sex and age. Latent class model suggested three classes varying by level of severity: low (31% of the sample), medium (45% of the sample), and high (24% of the sample) symptomatology. Conclusions Results suggest that PTSD is a continuously distributed latent trait.