title: Anticipatory stress in children and adolescents.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Tennessee, Memphis 38105.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kiser
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heston
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hickerson
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Millsap
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Nunn
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pruitt
mesh_terms: 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