Prevalence of psychiatric symptoms in children and adolescents one year after the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake

Abstract

BackgroundIn 2009, an earthquake devastated the Abruzzo region in Italy. Despite the occurrence of several disasters in this country, no study on mental health of Italian children has ever been conducted in complex emergencies. Objective of the study was to assess the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms among children in the affected area 12 to 17 months after the event.MethodsA community sample of 1839 3-14 years children was identified from the general population assigned to 37 paediatricians of the National Health System, including children living in the earthquake epicentre, the surrounding earthquake zone, and the adjacent non-affected areas. Psychiatric symptoms were assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Youth Self Report (YSR), completed by 452 children aged 11–14 years. The association between symptoms and sociodemographic, health, family, and earthquake-related factors was examined.ResultsThe prevalence of CBCL-defined cases was 14.9% in the epicentre, 13.0% in the remainder earthquake zone, 13.9% in the unaffected area (p = .876). No differences among areas were found when comparing the YSR results. Prevalence of CBCL-defined post-traumatic stress (PTS) cases was 8.4% in the epicentre, 4.0% in the remainder earthquake zone, 2.2% in the unaffected area (p = .002). PTS and anxiety were significantly more frequent in the epicentre than in other areas only in the 6–10 year-old children group (respectively p = .009 and p = .014). In multivariate logistic analyses, factors associated with PTS were living in the epicentre (OR = 3.6) and child or maternal history of mental health care prior to the earthquake (respectively OR = 7.1 and OR = 4.5).ConclusionsChildren living in the epicentre, particularly those 6–10 years old, had the highest prevalence of CBCL-defined cases, and of PTS and anxiety symptoms one year after the earthquake. No signs of increased psychopathology were detected in younger (3–5 years) or older children (11–14 years). Family and health related factors showed stronger association with psychiatric outcomes than earthquake-related factors. The identification of populations at higher risk of developing psychiatric symptoms has implications for public health interventions in complex emergencies.

International Adoption of Children Surviving the Haitian Earthquake

“…14 In the study of Feo et al, children aged 3-5 years did not show any signs of PTSD or anxiety symptoms 12-17 months after the earthquake. 15 Despite its low power, our study is, therefore, consistent with this literature.…”

“…Adoptive families were sent information with a photo of their future adoptee (most often by e-mail) very early in the adoption process, which could take several years (median 18 months [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] for the 30 children in the study). This can make the wait distressing, because the process can be interrupted for many reasons (administrative, disease, death, disaster, or biological family refusal), whereas the attachment process is already strong for the parents: "I felt a mum as soon as I received the e-mail with the message and the picture of my daughter."…”

“…Studies have evaluated the presence or absence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children and adolescents who have experienced a natural disaster such as an earthquake or a tsunami. [12][13][14][15] Early psychological assistance is needed to prevent the development of PTSD, especially, for children who have lost their home or a family member. 13 Usami et al showed that trauma symptoms in children who had survived a major tsunami gradually faded with time.…”

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Among Children of Kathmandu 1 Year After the 2015 Earthquake in Nepal

“…Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness symptoms were more pronounced in 6-10-year-old children in L'Aquila 29 and among those children younger than 13 years in Greece. However, this finding is in contradiction to findings from other studies where age had no significant association with PTSD symptomology, 30 reflecting a less-clear relationship between age and PTSD reactions.…”

Report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change: implications for the mental health policy of children and adolescents in Europe—a scoping review

“…1 Climate change can affect mental health in directly by, e.g., natural disasters, indirectly by consequences of climate change that affects social, economic and environmental aspects of life and by overarching awareness of climate change and its global consequences. Additionally, physical health problems may impact mental health post-traumatic stress (according to Child Behavior Checklist) was 8.4% in the epicenter, 4.0% in the remainder of the earthquake zone and 2.2% in the unaffected area [5]. There is a huge diversity of research methodologies in this field regarding time of assessment and design of studies-including cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches.…”