Children and disaster: age, gender, and parental effects on PTSD symptoms.
Psychiatric reports of 179 children aged 2 to 15 who were exposed to the Buffalo Creek dam collapse in 1972 were rated for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms 2 years after the disaster. Age and gender effects and the impact of the level of exposure and parental functioning were examined according to a conceptual model addressing factors contributing to adaptation to a traumatic event. Results showed fewer PTSD symptoms in the youngest age group and higher symptom levels for girls than boys. Approximately 37% of the children were given a "probable" diagnosis of PTSD. Multiple regression analysis showed that life threat, gender, parental psychopathology, and an irritable and/or depressed family atmosphere all contributed to the prediction of PTSD symptomatology in the children.
Green
B L
BL
Georgetown University Medical School, Washington, DC 20007-2197.
Korol
M
M
Grace
M C
MC
Vary
M G
MG
Leonard
A C
AC
Gleser
G C
GC
Smitson-Cohen
S
S
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010553:Personality Development; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D014903:West Virginia