ERIC Number: ED399087
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1996-Mar
Pages: 224
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: ISBN-0-925190-95-0
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
When Nothing Makes Sense: Disaster, Crisis, and Their Effects on Children.
Deskin, Gerald; Steckler, Greg
The terror and severe stress most children feel after a disaster such as an earthquake or bombing manifest themselves in a number of ways. This book provides a tool for parents and others responsible for children's well-being to prepare for a disaster experience. The book's introductory chapter examines the nature of disasters--natural and human-made--defining terms such as trauma and stress, and detailing symptoms of stress. Factors that influence how well or poorly a person handles a disaster are also explored. The remaining chapters are: (1) "Children's Emotional Reaction to Crisis"; (2) "What To Do before a Disaster"; (3) "True Stories: The Shaking Earth"; (4) "What To Do during a Disaster"; (5) "Mental, Emotional, and Physical Reactions to Disaster"; (6) "True Stories; The Blowing Wind"; (7) "What To Do after a Disaster"; (8) "Help after a Disaster"; (9) "True Stories; The Burning Forest"; (10) "Special Family Problems after a Disaster," on coping with problems that may arise with specific family members, including the elderly, adolescents, and disabled; (11) "Cultural Differences in Handling Stress and Disasters," on communicating with disaster workers from other cultures; (12) "True Stories: The Crazy Man," an account of a gunman firing into a school yard; (13) "An Overview of Some Disasters"; (14) "The Media's Impact"; and (15) "The Aftereffects--Years after a Disaster," on both the positive and negative effects, and how the families described in the preceding chapters have fared. Two appendices contain a list of emergency materials to purchase in preparation for disaster, and text to read aloud into a tape reorder to make a pre- or posttrauma relaxation tape. Contains 13 references. (HTH)
Descriptors: Childhood Needs, Children, Coping, Counseling, Crime, Cultural Differences, Earthquakes, Emergency Programs, Emergency Squad Personnel, Emotional Problems, Emotional Response, Floods, Hurricanes, Natural Disasters, Parent Role, Parenting Skills, Stress Management, Terrorism, Tornadoes, War
Fairview Press, 2450 Riverside Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55454 ($19.95).
Publication Type: Books; Guides - Non-Classroom
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Parents
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A