Social connectedness: a potential aetiological factor in the development of child post-traumatic stress disorder.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate a new social connectedness factor and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in children who experienced a cyclone disaster.


METHODS
Three months post-disaster school-based screening for PTSD was conducted. 804 children (mean age = 10.22 years, SD = 1.24) participated. 12.0% of children reported severe or very severe PTSD symptoms.


RESULTS
Low connected children, adjusted for age, gender and independent of cyclone exposure and threat perception, were 3.96 times more likely to experience severe to very severe PTSD. A structural model of child PTSD indicated that connectedness was the most important factor explaining variance in children's symptomatology. The final model accounted for 60% of the variance of child PTSD scores.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that child connectedness is a new, significant, independent factor in a model of post-disaster child PTSD. Connectedness may represent a vulnerability factor that can be targeted preventatively in children in disaster-prone regions. Conversely, a pre-disaster intervention that helps children develop high connectedness may have the potential to confer resilience.
Mater Children's Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. brett.mcdermott@mater.org.au
Brett
B
McDermott
Helen
H
Berry
Vanessa
V
Cobham
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011793:Queensland; D012307:Risk Factors; D012934:Social Isolation / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology