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Psychological Impact of Disasters and Terrorism on Children and Adolescents: Experiences from Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Sally Wooding  and
Beverley Raphael
Sally Wooding*
Affiliation:
Clinical Psychologist and Senior Project Officer, Centre for Mental Health, NSW Health Department, Sydney, Australia
Beverley Raphael
Affiliation:
Director, Centre for Mental Health, NSW Health Department, Sydney, Australia
*
Clinical Psychologist and Senior Project Officer, Centre for Mental Health, NSW Health Department, Sydney, Australia E-mail: SAWOO@doh.health.nsw.gov.au
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Abstract

Recent acts of terrorism have emphasised the need for research to further establish not only the nature of the impact of disaster and terrorism on the population, but also further define methods of effective intervention. Those affected, and often overlooked, include children and adolescents, yet, our knowledge of the impact upon the younger members of our community limited. The literature is evolving, and there are a small number of valuable studies that can inform a response to the mental health needs of this younger population.

This article reviews some of the psychological impacts of disaster and terrorism upon children and adolescents, and considers both risk and protective factors. The importance of a developmental approach to children's understanding of disaster, particularly death and the nature of grief and loss are discussed as is the distinction between the phenomenology of bereavement and trauma. Family and community support are highlighted as protective factors, and a number of recent, valuable recommendations for intervention including psychological first aid and cognitive-behavioral therapy are described. Finally, the complex role of the media and the degree that children should exposed to images of violence and disaster is considered. Disasters, whether they are natural or human-made always will be with us. It is necessary that a public-health approach that not only prepares for such scenarios, but responds by maximising the use of existing systems and agency linkages, taken.

Keywords

bereavementchildren and adolescentsdisastersinterventionfamily and community supportgrief and lossmental health needsterrorismtrauma
Type
Special Reports
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 19 , Special Issue 1: Psychosocial Themes , March 2004 , pp. 10 - 20
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2004

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