Children Exposed to Disaster: I. Epidemiology of Post-Traumatic Symptoms and Symptom Profiles

Shannon, Mitsuko P.; Lonigan, Christopher J.; Finch, A. J.; Taylor, Charlotte M.

doi:10.1097/00004583-199401000-00012

Cited by 353 publications

(282 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Consistent with previous research (Green et al, 1991;Lonigan et al, 1994;Pynoos, 1986), the level of exposure to traumatic events is found to be a strong predictor for the severity of PTSD symptoms. Reports about frightening and life-threatening events that occur during natural disasters, and the loss and disruption that follow such disasters are two aspects of exposure that are most frequently associated with children s post-disaster reactions (Vernberg & Vogel, 1993).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Gender differences in studies with large samples have generally found that girls have more symptoms than boys (Green et al, 1991;Lonigan et al, 1991;Shannon et al, 1994). Some studies found boys have more symptoms than girls and some found qualitative gender differences in symptoms and recovery.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies found that girls report more distress caused by natural disasters than boys (Green et al, 1991;Lonigan et al, 1991;Shannon et al, 1994), and age-related differences in post-traumatic stress symptoms were reported in some studies. In this study, we focused on gender and age only.…”

Section: Individual Characteristics Of Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

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PTSD Symptoms in Elementary School Children After Typhoon Rusa

Lee

Kim

et al. 2004

J Korean Acad Nurs

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Purpose. A natural disaster negatively affects children's emotional and behavioral adjustment. The purpose of this paper was to examine the prevalence, symptoms, and correlates of PTSD after the occurrence of Typhoon Rusa.Method. 261 elementary school children living in Kimcheon, which was a devastated rural area in South Korea by Typhoon Rusa, were selected. Data were collected 4 months after the disaster using the PTSD Reaction Index categories recommended by Frederick, severity of PTSD.Results. 12.3% of the children had either moderate or severe PTSD symptoms; 22.7% reported mild symptoms; and the remaining 65% had sub-clinical symptoms of PTSD. The most frequent symptom was recurrenct fear(67.0%). 13% to 17.2% of children exhibited difficulty in concentration, sleep disturbance, and guilt feeling. The regression model of severity of PTSD was composed of the level of exposure to traumatic experiences, grade in school, gender, negative coping style, and social support, and explained 34.3% for PTSD symptoms. Exposure to traumatic experiences was the strongest factor of all predictors. Conclusion.Emotional support from friends and coping style were correlated with PTSD severity. School-based interventions that emphasizes coping with disaster related problems and problem-solving may prove to be useful, and may aid in building close and supportive ties with teachers, classmates, and friends.Key Words: Children, PTSD, Natural disaster informing efforts have been limited. Up to date, there have not been any studies in South Korea about posttraumatic stress disorder in children who have experienced such a disaster.Several investigations have reported the incidence of PTSD symptoms and diagnosis in children. In a large sample of school-age children who experienced a forest fire, over 50% of their parents reported PTSD symptoms at 2 months after the accident, and 33% of them reported PTSD symptoms after 2 years (McFarlane, 1987). However, most studies have not directly focused on the presence or absence of the diagnosis of PTSD and it is still unclear whether children who were exposed to disaster experience all of the PTSD symptoms.The essential feature of PTSD is developing characteristic symptoms after a traumatic event (Green, 1991). These symptoms involve the following three clusters: persistent re-experiencing of the stressor (e.g., recurrent thoughts or dreams of the disaster), persistent avoidance of reminders of the event and numbing of general responsiveness (e.g., avoidance of disaster-related activities, and feeling of detachment), and persistent symptoms of hyper-arousal (e.g., experience difficulties in sleeping or concentrating). When children are repetitively exposed to traumatic events, generalized nightmares, psychosomatic symptoms (e.g., headaches, stomach aches), and foreboding omens may occur.This study was done to identify the PTSD symptoms of children caused by a natural disaster and diverse factors that are related to these symptoms by examining 261 elementary school children in Kimcheon, 4 month...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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PTSD Symptoms in Elementary School Children After Typhoon Rusa

Lee

Kim

et al. 2004

J Korean Acad Nurs

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“…Large-scale natural disasters affect broad geographic areas, leading investigators to study mixed populations that often include both direct and indirect victims (Thompson et al 1993;Shannon et al 1994;Carr et al 1995). Consequently, as previously suggested , the relatively low prevalence of PTSD among populations studied after natural disasters compared to human-made or technological disasters may stem from a lower average dosage of exposure among people exposed to the disaster.…”

Section: Studies Of Natural Disastersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-traumatic stress disorder following disasters: a systematic review

2007

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“…With regard to the association between age and PTSD symptoms, the results have been inconsistent across studies. Some studies indicated that age was not significantly related with PTSD after traumatic events [19,21], whereas other studies showed that older children had more severe symptoms than did younger children [4,22,23]. In a recent meta-analysis, Trickey et al [16] concluded that age's main effect was close to zero, but it may play a moderating role in the relationship between gender and PTSD.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%