Anticipatory stress in children and adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
Circumstances surrounding the New Madrid earthquake prediction on Dec. 3, 1990, offered a unique opportunity to study the effects of a disaster warning stage on children and adolescents.


METHODS
An initial structured interview was administered to 553 third- and 10th-grade students before December 3, with follow-up interviews conducted 6-8 weeks later.


RESULTS
This study documents the existence of a mild but prevalent PTSD-like reaction that arose from exposure to a prediction of disaster.


CONCLUSIONS
Further study of anticipatory stress reactions is needed to provide insights into the development of methods for providing support to children during disaster warnings.
Kiser
L
L
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Tennessee, Memphis 38105.
Heston
J
J
Hickerson
S
S
Millsap
P
P
Nunn
W
W
Pruitt
D
D
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D004189:Disaster Planning; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis