Hurricane Hugo blows down the broccoli: Preschoolers' post-disaster play and adjustment

Saylor, Conway F.; Swenson, Cynthia Cupit; Powell, P.W.

doi:10.1007/bf00705888

Cited by 59 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The relative scarcity of avoidance/numbing symptoms provides further support for the need to modify the DSM-IV PTSD criteria to place greater emphasis on behavioural manifestations rather than cognitive manifestations of reactions to trauma. The most common symptoms that are reported across studies, including either interview or questionnaire data, are talking about the event, distress upon reminders, nightmares, new separation anxiety or clinginess, new fears, crying, sleep disturbance, increased motor activity and increased irritability or tantrums (Graham-Bermann et al 2008;Klein et al 2009;Levendosky et al 2002;Saylor et al 1992;Scheeringa et al , 2003Zerk et al 2009). …”

Section: Prevalence Of Ptsd Symptomsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Trauma in Early Childhood: A Neglected Population

Young

Kenardy

Cobham

2011

Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev

152

113

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Infants, toddlers and preschoolers are a high risk group for exposure to trauma. Young children are also vulnerable to experiencing adverse outcomes as they are undergoing a rapid developmental period, have limited coping skills and are strongly dependent on their primary caregiver to protect them physically and emotionally. However, although millions of young children experience trauma each year, this population has been largely neglected. Fortunately, over the last 2 decades there has been a growing appreciation of the magnitude of the problem with a small but expanding number of dedicated researchers and clinicians working with this population. This review examines the empirical literature on trauma in young children with regards to the following factors: (1) how trauma reactions typically manifest in young children; (2) history and diagnostic validity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in preschoolers; (3) prevalence, comorbidity and course of trauma reactions; (4) developmental considerations; (5) risk and protective factors; and (6) treatment. The review highlights that there are unique developmental differences in the rate and manifestation of trauma symptomatology, the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., DSM-IV-TR) PTSD criteria is not developmentally sensitive and the impact of trauma must be considered within the context of the parent-child relationship. Recommendations for future research with this population are also discussed.

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Section: Prevalence Of Ptsd Symptomsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Trauma in Early Childhood: A Neglected Population

Young

Kenardy

Cobham

2011

Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev

152

113

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“…Previous disaster research revealed significant mental health problems among children exposed to major disasters including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13], behavioral problems [14], anxiety [6], depression [15, 16], fears [17], and learning difficulties [18]. PTSD prevalence rates among Thai children 2 and 9 months after the tsunami were between 10 and 13% [19] and in children from severely affected areas of Sri Lanka the prevalence rates were between 14 and 39% 3–4 weeks after the tsunami [20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

School-Based Intervention for the Treatment of Tsunami-Related Distress in Children: A Quasi-Randomized Controlled Trial

Berger

Gelkopf²

2009

Psychother Psychosom

128

108

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Background: On December 26, 2004, a tsunami hit the southern coast of Sri Lanka, leaving thousands dead and injured. Previous research has found significant mental health problems among children exposed to major disasters. School-based universal interventions have shown promise in alleviating distress and posttraumatic symptomatology in children and adolescents. This study evaluated the efficacy of a school-based intervention in reducing stress-related symptomatology among Sri Lankan children exposed to the tsunami. Methods: In a quasi-randomized controlled trial 166 elementary school students (ages 9–15) with significant levels of tsunami exposure and previous traumatic background were randomly assigned to a 12-session structured program ‘ERASE Stress Sri Lanka’ (ES-SL) or to a waiting list (WL) religious class control group. Students were assessed 1 week prior and 3 months after the intervention on measures of posttraumatic symptomatology [including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and severity of posttraumatic symptomatology], depression, functional problems, somatic problems and hope. Results: This study shows a significant reduction on all outcome variables. PTSD severity, functional problems, somatic complaints, depression and hope scores were all significantly improved in the ES-SL group compared to the WL group. No new cases of PTSD were observed in the experimental group. Conclusion: This study adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting the efficacy of school-based universal approaches in helping children in regions touched by war, terror and disaster and suggests the need to adopt a two-stage approach toward dealing with trauma-exposed students, namely, starting with a universal intervention followed by targeted specialized interventions for those still suffering from posttraumatic distress.

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“…The reactions of the children to Katrina are similar to those expressed by preschool children during the year following Hurricane Hugo (Saylor, Swenson, & Powell, 1992). Students in our district returned to school while still living in harsh conditions.…”

Section: Through the Eyes Of Children: Hurricane Katrina Affects Studmentioning

confidence: 59%

Survivors of the Storm: Teaching in a Post-Katrina World

Lowery¹,

Burts

2007

J. of Early Childhood Teacher Educ.

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This article describes the independent reading and research project of an early childhood education graduate student who taught in a school district heavily impacted by Hurricane Katrina. She surveyed a sample of kindergarten teachers in the district to determine how they were responding in the aftermath of Katrina. The voices of teachers reflect their personal and professional struggles as they went about teaching in a post-Katrina world. She describes the challenges she faced in completing this project and what she learned through this experience.

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Hurricane Hugo blows down the broccoli: Preschoolers' post-disaster play and adjustment

Cited by 59 publications

References 12 publications

Trauma in Early Childhood: A Neglected Population

Trauma in Early Childhood: A Neglected Population

School-Based Intervention for the Treatment of Tsunami-Related Distress in Children: A Quasi-Randomized Controlled Trial

Survivors of the Storm: Teaching in a Post-Katrina World

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