During and following natural or man-made disasters, relief efforts have a long history of initially focusing on basic survival needs, then restoring community stability. Disaster mental health is a relatively new aspect of relief efforts, particularly in regard to children's needs. After reviewing objectives of major relief organizations and…

Seven months after Hurricane Katrina, 183 five- to eight-year-old children were surveyed about their own intrusive thoughts and tested on their level of cognitive functioning (knowledge about the mind and the mind's operations). Basic developmental research suggests that children who lack sufficient knowledge about the mind should have…

The greater New Orleans area--Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard parishes--has yet to fully recover from the effects of Hurricane Katrina. As a result of the hurricane and its aftermath, many children experienced psychological trauma, which can have long-lasting effects. Experts have previously identified barriers to providing and…

Tornadoes and other natural disasters can lead to anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children. This study provides further validity for the Oklahoma State University Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Scale-Child Form (OSU PTSDS-CF) by comparing it to the Behavior Assessment System for Children Self-Report of Personality (BASC-SRP).…

Many children have struggled to cope with the traumatic experiences brought about by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This article recounts how the authors intervened in the lives of children and families after the storms. (Contains 3 figures.)

The greater New Orleans area has yet to fully recover from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall on August 29, 2005. One issue of concern in the recovery is the availability of mental health services for children. It is estimated that in 2008 about 187,000 children were living in the greater New Orleans area. Many children in the…

Across America, the numbers of homeless children and families are growing as a result of many factors including the recent economic crisis, home foreclosures, and natural disasters. Because of an increase in the number of homeless children throughout the United States, this population has unmet needs that can be targeted in school settings under…

This paper details art therapy with children affected by the December 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka. Over 30,000 Sri Lankans lost their lives when the tsunami decimated coastal areas. The child survivors witnessed horrific traumatic events and the loss of loved ones, but had not been given opportunity to express their grief and pain. A 4-week art…

A graduate student in early childhood education discusses observations of his children during and after Hurricanes Rita and Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. He relates his use of responsive parenting and provides examples of his children's learning and play that emerged after the storms. He reflects upon how aspects of developmentally appropriate…

The objective of this paper is to develop a brief screening instrument of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for young victims of natural disasters. Data were derived from flood victims in 1998 and 1999 in Hunan, China. A representative population sample of 6,852 subjects 7-15 years of age was selected. Among them, 6,073 (88.6%) were…

In August and September 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused devastating damage to states along the Gulf Coast. In the aftermath of the storms, many questions were raised about the status of the thousands of children living in the affected areas. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) prepared this preliminary information under the…

The effects of stress on mothers' recall for a major hurricane were studied. Stress was objectively defined as low, moderate, or high according to the severity of home damage. This study of 96 mothers was conducted concurrently with L. E. Bahrick, J. F. Parker, R. Fivush, and M. Levitt (1998), allowing the authors to compare child and adult…

Earthquake, a natural disaster, is among the fundamental problems of many countries. If people know how to protect themselves from earthquake and arrange their life styles in compliance with this, damage they will suffer will reduce to that extent. In particular, a good training regarding earthquake to be received in primary schools is considered…

On the basis of theory and previous research, it was hypothesized that predisaster child trait anxiety would predict disaster-related posttraumatic stress symptoms and generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, even after controlling for the number of hurricane exposure events. Results support this hypothesis and further indicate that predisaster…

Compares fears of lightning-strike victims (N=29) with matched control children (N=58), using fear reports from children and their mothers. Differences between samples were most pronounced for child-reported fears. Correspondence between mothers' and children's reports of intense storm-related fears was markedly larger in the lightning sample than…