title: Brief treatment for elementary school children with disaster-related posttraumatic stress disorder: a field study.
abstract: Effective psychological intervention is needed to help children recover from disaster-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This controlled study evaluated the effectiveness of a brief intervention for disaster-related PTSD. At one-year follow-up of a prior intervention for disaster-related symptoms, some previously treated children were still suffering significant trauma symptoms. Using a randomized lagged-groups design, we provided three sessions of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) treatment to 32 of these children who met clinical criteria for PTSD. The Children's Reaction Inventory (CRI) was the primary measure of the treatment's effect on PTSD symptoms. Associated symptoms were measured using the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) and the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Treatment resulted in substantial reductions in both groups' CRI scores and in significant, though more modest, reductions in RCMAS and CDI scores. Gains were maintained at six-month follow-up. Health visits to the school nurse were significantly reduced following treatment. Psychosocial intervention appears useful for children suffering disaster-related PTSD. Conducting controlled studies of children's treatment in the postdisaster environment appears feasible.
authors.affiliation: National Center for PTSD, Pacific Islands Division, Department of Veterans Affairs, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA.
authors.forename: Claude M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Chemtob
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nakashima
authors.forename: John G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Carlson
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D003887:Desensitization, Psychologic / Q000379:methods*; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D012649:Self Concept; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires