A school-based intervention for preventing and reducing children's posttraumatic stress-related symptoms, somatic complaints, functional impairment, and anxiety due to exposure to terrorism was evaluated. In a quasi-randomized controlled trial, elementary school students were randomly assigned to an eight-session structured program, "Overshadowing the Threat of Terrorism" or to a waiting list control comparison group. Two months postintervention, the study group reported significant improvement on all measures. The authors conclude that a school-based universal intervention may significantly reduce posttraumatic stress disorder- (PTSD-) related symptoms in children repeatedly exposed to terrorist attacks and propose that it serve as a component of a public mental health approach dealing with children exposed to ongoing terrorism in a country ravaged by war and terrorism.

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The student population has been highly vulnerable to the risk of mental health deterioration during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to reveal the prevalence and predictors of mental health among students in Poland, Slovenia, Czechia, Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Turkey, Israel, and Colombia in a socioeconomic context during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted among 2349 students (69% women) from May–July 2020. Data were collected by means of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Gender Inequality Index (GII), Standard & Poor's Global Ratings, the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT), and a sociodemographic survey. Descriptive statistics and Bayesian multilevel skew-normal regression analyses were conducted. The prevalence of high stress, depression, and generalized anxiety symptoms in the total sample was 61.30%, 40.3%, and 30%, respectively. The multilevel Bayesian model showed that female sex was a credible predictor of PSS-10, GAD-7, and PHQ-8 scores. In addition, place of residence (town) and educational level (first-cycle studies) were risk factors for the PHQ-8. This study showed that mental health issues are alarming in the student population. Regular psychological support should be provided to students by universities.

Background: On December 26, 2004, a tsunami hit the southern coast of Sri Lanka, leaving thousands dead and injured. Previous research has found significant mental health problems among children exposed to major disasters. School-based universal interventions have shown promise in alleviating distress and posttraumatic symptomatology in children and adolescents. This study evaluated the efficacy of a school-based intervention in reducing stress-related symptomatology among Sri Lankan children exposed to the tsunami. Methods: In a quasi-randomized controlled trial 166 elementary school students (ages 9–15) with significant levels of tsunami exposure and previous traumatic background were randomly assigned to a 12-session structured program ‘ERASE Stress Sri Lanka’ (ES-SL) or to a waiting list (WL) religious class control group. Students were assessed 1 week prior and 3 months after the intervention on measures of posttraumatic symptomatology [including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and severity of posttraumatic symptomatology], depression, functional problems, somatic problems and hope. Results: This study shows a significant reduction on all outcome variables. PTSD severity, functional problems, somatic complaints, depression and hope scores were all significantly improved in the ES-SL group compared to the WL group. No new cases of PTSD were observed in the experimental group. Conclusion: This study adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting the efficacy of school-based universal approaches in helping children in regions touched by war, terror and disaster and suggests the need to adopt a two-stage approach toward dealing with trauma-exposed students, namely, starting with a universal intervention followed by targeted specialized interventions for those still suffering from posttraumatic distress.

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