Trauma in the High School

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that nurses who work with adolescents require specialized knowledge regarding the special needs of teens in a crisis or tragedy situation, especially in today's high school traumatic environment. The author points out that trauma in the school setting is generally defined as a sudden or unexpected occurrence, which may result in fear, such as the loss of a parent due to death or divorce, the death of a classmate from a motor vehicle accident or a suicide, or the real threat of physical harm within the school setting. The paper states that the best the school nurse can hope to provide is a mental health patch-up and the identification of those children who will need more in-depth counseling or those who are at risk for the development of conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

From the Paper:

"Making an unofficial survey of other schools in my district, I realized that many of the other schools were functioning and responding to school tragedy in much the same way that we did. The teens appeared to really need to be with peers at a time of tragedy, and this appears to stem from a need to normalize their feelings as well as maintain a sense of identity within the peer group. In speaking to my peers I was also able to find out that the older the child is, the more likely they are to be able to actually discuss the bereavement."

Sample of Sources Used:

• P. K., Davidson, J. R., Rosenbeck, R., Pilkonis, P. A., Wortman, C. B., Williams, J. B., Widiger, T. A., Kupfer, D. J. & Zisook, S. (1999), Consensus criteria for traumatic grief: A preliminary empirical test. Brit. J. Psychiat., 174:67-73.
• Pynoos, R. S. (1996), Exposure to catastrophic violence and disaster in childhood. In: Severe Stress and Mental Disturbance in Children, ed. C. R. Pfeffer. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, pp. 181-208.
• _____ Steinberg, A. M. & Wraith, R. (1995), A developmental model of childhood traumatic stress. In: Developmental Psychopathology, Vol. 2, ed. D. Cicchetti & D. J. Cohen. New York: Wiley, pp. 72-95.
• Rivera, B. & Widom, C. S. (1990), Childhood victimization and violent offending. Violence & Victims, 5:19-35.
• Lewis, D. O., Moy, E., Jackson, L. D., Aaronson, R., Restifo, N., Serra, S. & Simos, A. (1985), Biopsychosocial characteristics of children who later murder: A prospective study. Amer. J. Psychiat., 142:1161b-1167b.

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