Trauma and Disasters

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that disasters in modern society have traumatized a great many people. The writer explains that one of the great difficulties of such disasters is the recurrence of the severe, debilitating, and sustained condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder. The writer also points out that however grim the scenario is of studying the lives of the people who have suffered through traumatic events, such studies are extremely important because they allow us to gauge the effects of disasters and the effects of efforts to assist the victims of those disasters. The writer concludes that although it is a tragedy that children have their lives destroyed in events such as hurricanes, floods and the like, out of these disasters have come studies on post-traumatic stress disorder in children. It is a small ray of light in an otherwise dark experience.

From the Paper:

"One of the prime problems with post-traumatic stress disorder is that it often manifests itself long after the actual event. While post-traumatic stress disorder is relatively common after major crises, it is hardly universal. Given the fact that resources for addressing severe cases of post-traumatic stress disorder are in short supply, particularly in the wake of a major disaster, it is critical to determine who has suffered major trauma and who has not. However, there have been remarkably few studies examining how to diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder among children. There are also several critical questions about post-traumatic stress disorder among children. Much is known about post-traumatic stress disorder in adults, but we do not know what factors carry over to children also."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Gaffney, Donna A. (2006, Aug.). The aftermath of disaster: Children in crisis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62 (8): 1001-1016.
• Garrison, C.Z., Weinrich, M.W., Hardin, S.B., Weinrich, S., and Wang, L. (1993). Post-traumatic stress disorder in adolescents after a hurricane. American Journal of Epidemiology, 138: 522-30.
• Hamblen, J. (1998). PTSD in children and adolescents: A National Center for PTSD fact sheet. National Center for PTSD. Retrieved June 4, 2005, from <http://www.ncptsd.org/facts/specific/fs_children.html>
• Lonigan, Christopher J.; Anthony, Jason L. (1998, Sep.). Diagnostic efficacy of posttraumatic symptoms in children exposed to disaster. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 27 (3): 255-67.
• Pynoos, R.S., Frederick, C., Nader, K., Arroyo, W., Sternberg, A., Eth, S., Nunez, F., & Fairbanks, L. (1987) Life Threat and Posttraumatic Stress in School-Aged Children. Archives of General Psychiatry, 44, 1057-63.

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