Preparing children to cope with earthquakes: Building emotional competence

Abstract

Natural disasters, including earthquakes, can have a traumatic impact on children's psychological wellbeing and development. The efficacy of interventions aimed at enhancing children's socio‐emotional learning has been documented in the literature. At the same time, these techniques are the key for training children for possible future disasters by enhancing their knowledge about behavioural preparedness and emotional competence. However, research on evidence‐based training programs on earthquakes combining digital and traditional activities is scarce. We tested the efficacy of a 10‐unit training program for primary school children, developed within the Emotional Prevention and Earthquakes in Primary School (PrEmT) project. The program aimed at increasing knowledge of and metacognition about earthquakes, safety behaviours, emotions, and coping strategies, through digital (using the web‐application HEMOT®, Helmet for EMOTions, developed ad‐hoc) and traditional activities (completing paper‐and‐pencil tasks). The participants were 548 second and fourth‐graders from Italian schools. They were divided into an experimental group (participating in the training program) and a control group. Both groups participated in pretests and posttests to evaluate changes in their knowledge of training‐related contents. For ethical reasons, we also measured children's wellbeing. Generalized linear mixed models indicated an improvement in the experimental group's knowledge and metacognition about earthquakes, safety behaviours, emotions, and coping strategies after the training program, compared to the control group. Children's general wellbeing did not deteriorate during participation in the project. The results documented the efficacy of the evidence‐based training program developed within the PrEmT project. The program provides a preventive method for enhancing earthquake‐related resilience that could be generalized to other kinds of disasters.

Can a web application foster emotional competence in children and adolescents? The case of PandHEMOT®

“…Previous research has demonstrated the value of using psychoeducation as a way to empower people's knowledge in relation to risk management, with increased awareness recognized by the United Nations as a pillar for improving children and adolescents' readiness towards disasters, rather than supporting people's natural recovery (Howard & Goelitz, 2004;Seddighi et al, 2020;Torani et al, 2019). Coherently with this, we documented a rise in children's knowledge and metacognitive awareness about how to cope with earthquakes through an evidence-based psychoeducational programme combining traditional and digital activities (Raccanello et al, 2023c). Such intervention was based on a theoretical model focussing on the psychological processes characterizing the responses to disasters (Raccanello et al, 2023c).…”

“…Coherently with this, we documented a rise in children's knowledge and metacognitive awareness about how to cope with earthquakes through an evidence-based psychoeducational programme combining traditional and digital activities (Raccanello et al, 2023c). Such intervention was based on a theoretical model focussing on the psychological processes characterizing the responses to disasters (Raccanello et al, 2023c).…”

“…We implemented a three-unit programme based on digital activities delivered via the app PandHEMOT ® (adapted from Raccanello & Burro, 2019;Raccanello et al, 2020Raccanello et al, , 2023cVicentini et al, 2020). The students used tablets and headphones for doing the activities.…”

“…This procedure permits to increase the content validity of the measures about knowledge, as their capacity to grasp the contents of interest mirroring the underlying representation of the participants. In doing so, we adapted some questions used in previous research about disasters (Raccanello et al, 2023c), and we developed the coding scheme for each measure deductively on the basis of reliable sources (e.g. WHO, n.d.) and inductively taking into account the students' responses, further increasing the validity of such procedure as in the case of mixed qualitative and quantitative research (Levitt et al, 2018).…”

“…Previous research has demonstrated that young people can be helped by enhancing their knowledge about the characteristics of a disaster and their own emotional reactions to it (e.g. Hisli Sahin et al, 2011;Raccanello et al, 2020bRaccanello et al, , 2023c.…”