Mental health interventions for children exposed to disasters and terrorism.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this review is to describe interventions used with children who are exposed to disasters and terrorism and to present information about the potential benefits of these interventions.


METHODS
A literature search conducted in January 2013 using relevant databases and literature known to the authors that was not generated by the search yielded a total of 85 studies appropriate for review.


RESULTS
Intervention approaches used with children exposed to disasters and terrorism included preparedness interventions, psychological first aid, psychological debriefing, psychoeducation, cognitive behavioral techniques, exposure and narrative techniques, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, and traumatic grief interventions. The investigation of these interventions is complex, and studies varied in methodological rigor (e.g., sample size, the use of control groups, outcomes measured).


CONCLUSIONS
Given the limitations in the currently available empirical information, this review integrates the literature, draws tentative conclusions about the current state of knowledge, and suggests future directions for study.
1 Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, College of Medicine, and Terrorism and Disaster Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center , Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Betty
B
Pfefferbaum
Elana
E
Newman
Summer D
SD
Nelson
D002648:Child; D004190:Disasters; D006801:Humans; D008603:Mental Health; D008605:Mental Health Services; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D023481:Terrorism / Q000523:psychology*