Abstract
Disasters have the potential to cause short- and long-term effects on the psychological functioning, emotional adjustment, health, and developmental trajectory of children, especially if exposure is prolonged or complicated by other factors. Anticipatory guidance can be provided to families by nurses and HCPs in a variety of practice settings on how to identify and address the most common adjustment and grief reactions that can be anticipated among children after a disaster. Sites that provide medical care to children should be designed to minimize the likelihood of contributing to the additional stress of children. Psychological distress may present as symptoms that mimic serious physical conditions. Time spent on understanding the patient’s psychological distress and implementing effective brief interventions may expedite the delivery of appropriate medical care and promote resiliency.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Penrose A, Takaki M. Children’s rights in emergencies and disasters. Lancet. 2006;367:698–9.
Schonfeld D, Demaria T, Disaster Preparedness Advisory Council, Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health. Providing psychosocial support to children and families in the aftermath of disaster and crisis: a guide for pediatricians. Pediatrics. 2015;136(4):e1120–30.
Osofsky HJ, Osofsky JD, Kronenberg M, Brennan A, Hansel TC. Posttraumatic stress symptoms in children after Hurricane Katrina: predicting the need for mental health services. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2009;79(2):212–20.
Institute of Medicine. Preparing for the psychological consequences of terrorism: a public health strategy. Washington, DC: National Academics Press; 2003.
Grolnick WS, Schonfeld DJ, Schreiber M, Cohen J, Cole V, Jaycox L, Zatzick D. Improving adjustment and resilience in children following a disaster: addressing research challenges. Am Psychol. 2018;73(3):215–29.
Schonfeld DJ, Gurwitch RH. Children in disasters. In: Elzouki AY, Stapleton FB, Whitley RJ, Oh W, Harfi HA, Nazer H, editors. Textbook of clinical pediatrics. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag; 2012. p. 687–98.
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 5th ed. (DSM-5). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.
Lai BS, La Greca AM, Auslander BA, Short MB. Children’s symptoms of posttraumatic stress and depression after a natural disaster: comorbidity and risk factors. J Affect Disorder. 2013;146(1):71–8.
Schonfeld D. Providing psychological first aid and identifying mental health needs in the aftermath of a disaster or community crisis. In: Foltin G, Tunik M, Treiber M, Cooper A, editors. Pediatric disaster preparedness: a resource for planning, management, and provision of out-of-hospital emergency care. New York, NY: Center Pediatr Emerg Med; 2008.
Lai BS, Lewis R, Livings MS, La Greca AM, Esnard A. Posttraumatic stress symptom trajectories among children after disaster exposure: a review. J Trauma Stress. 2017;30(6):571–82.
Masten AS. Ordinary magic. Resilience processes in development. Am Psychol. 2001;56(3):227–38.
Bonanno GA. Loss, trauma and human resilience: have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events? Am Psychol. 2004;59(1):20–8.
Campbell-Sills L, Stein MB. Psychometric analysis and refinement of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC): validation of a 10-item measure of resilience. J Trauma Stress. 2007;20(6):1019–28.
Prince-Embury S. Assessing personal resiliency in the context of school settings: using the resiliency scales for children and adolescents. Psychol Sch. 2011;48(7):672–85.
Furr JM, Comer JS, Edmunds JM, Kendall PC. Disasters and youth: a meta-analytic examination of posttraumatic stress. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2010;78:765–80.
Bonanno GA, Brewin CR, Kaniasty K, La Greca AM. Weighing the costs of disaster: consequences, risks, and resilience in individuals, families, and communities. Psychol Sci Public Interest. 2010;11(1):1–49.
Schonfeld DJ, Demaria T, Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, Disaster Preparedness Advisory Council. Supporting the grieving child and family. Pediatrics. 2016;138(3):e2016–147.
Schonfeld DJ, Demaria T. Supporting grieving students in the aftermath of a school crisis. In: Bui E, editor. Clinical handbook of bereavement and grief reactions. Cham: Springer; 2018. p. 217–40.
Schonfeld D, Quackenbush M. The grieving student: a teacher’s guide. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing; 2010.
Dorociak K, Rupert P, Bryant F, Zahniser E. Development of a self-care assessment for psychologists. J Couns Psychol. 2017;64(3):325–34.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Schonfeld, D.J., Demaria, T. (2020). Supporting Children and Families in the Aftermath of Disasters. In: Goodhue, C., Blake, N. (eds) Nursing Management of Pediatric Disaster. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43428-1_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43428-1_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-43427-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-43428-1
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)