School reactivation programs after disaster: could teachers serve as clinical mediators?

Wolmer, Leo; Laor, Nathaniel; Yazgan, Yankı

doi:10.1016/s1056-4993(02)00104-9

Cited by 87 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Situating the intervention within the school helps to make these services available, feasible and affordable [22] as well as minimizes stigma [23], increases the likelihood of program adherence and provides peer support [24, 25]. Despite the advantages of such an approach, few universal school-based programs were developed for children in the aftermath of disasters [6, 26] or war and terrorism [27,28,29,30] and very few programs provided empirical evidence regarding their efficacy [26, 31]. In a quasi-randomized controlled trial we demonstrated significant declines in PTSD-related symptoms among elementary school students exposed to terror in Israel following such an intervention [24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

School-Based Intervention for the Treatment of Tsunami-Related Distress in Children: A Quasi-Randomized Controlled Trial

Berger

Gelkopf²

2009

Psychother Psychosom

129

108

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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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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

School-Based Intervention for the Treatment of Tsunami-Related Distress in Children: A Quasi-Randomized Controlled Trial

Berger

Gelkopf²

2009

Psychother Psychosom

129

108

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Because most societies lack the resources required to individually assist masses of children, post-disaster therapeutic approaches may require a group format, such as universal teacher-delivered interventions in the kindergarten setting 35,36,37 . Supported by the trusting relations with children and parents, these non-stigmatic interventions have been found to effectively reduce the post-exposure suffering of school-age children following natural disasters and wars 35,36,37,38,39 .…”

Section: Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Supported by the trusting relations with children and parents, these non-stigmatic interventions have been found to effectively reduce the post-exposure suffering of school-age children following natural disasters and wars 35,36,37,38,39 . However, for the most symptomatic preschoolers, group interventions may not be sufficient to alleviate their suffering.…”

Section: Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preschool children facing mass trauma: Disasters, war and terrorism

Wolmer¹

2018

J Mental Health & Clin Psychology

Self Cite

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Preschool children are exposed to an increasingly wide variety of disasters and terrorist incidents that may have severe effects on their mental health and development. The goal of this paper is to review the research literature regarding the needs of preschoolers in the context of disasters and terrorism with the aim of understanding: a) the consequences of such events for young children and the main moderating variables influencing the eventconsequence association. b) the existing methods for assessment, prevention and intervention to provide recommendations and point out required research and development. We differentiate between screening tools that provide initial evaluation and assessment tools for diagnosing preschooler children's' pathology and review possible interventions that address the preschool child's needs before, during and after the incident itself. We discuss the challenges in performing research following disaster and terrorism and the lack of dissemination and research of prevention programs and mass interventions for preschoolers. Finally, we emphasize the need for research and intervention programs aimed at dealing with the impact of terrorism and armed conflict on children's worldview.

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“…The teachers were supervised on a weekly basis by school nurses and on a monthly basis by school counselors and the adolescent psychiatrist at the Miyagi Psychiatric Center. Our decision to empower the staff to conduct the intervention was based on the previous research (Wolmer et al 2003(Wolmer et al , 2005; we intend this to better assist the students with their psychological distress, thereby decreasing their symptoms and promoting school revitalization.…”

Section: School Staffmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies have shown that teacher-based interventions performed after a disaster are less effective in children with multiple previous traumas. These children might require a combined universal specific approach (Wolmer et al 2003(Wolmer et al , 2011. Future studies are needed to elucidate whether such vulnerability is also relevant to a preventive approach.…”

Section: Study Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

School-Based Interventions Aimed at the Prevention and Treatment of Adolescents Affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake: A Three-Year Longitudinal Study

Okuyama

Funakoshi

Tomita

et al. 2017

Tohoku J. Exp. Med.

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How natural disasters affect the psychological state of adolescents has not been well studied. Thus, we examined the effect of a natural disaster on high-school-aged youth and considered the most effective forms of support following such a disaster. We examined students from two high schools that were near the epicenter of the 9.0-magnitude Great East Japan Earthquake, which struck the Tohoku coastal area on March 11, 2011, causing severe damage to the region. The questionnaires measuring depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress reaction (PTSR) was administered to the students 3 times between July 2012 and August 2014; students who scored above the cut-off values of these measures were considered highrisk students. School teachers, nurses, and counselors provided a school-based intervention for all highrisk students identified in the survey. Data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis H-test. Survey data revealed that 860 of the 1,432 (55.9%) high school students were at high risk of psychological trauma in 2012. This rate did not change substantially in the following 2 years, reaching 1,059 of 1,488 (69.1%) in 2013, and 949 of 1,430 (62.7%) in 2014. Depression and PTSR scores were significantly lower after the intervention (for 2nd and 3rd grade students in 2013 and 2014) compared to before (for the initial 2012 survey). However, there were no significant differences between the 1st grade students for all three years. Thus, school-based interventions involving psychological testing and interviews might reduce the rates of depression and PTSR in high school students.

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School reactivation programs after disaster: could teachers serve as clinical mediators?

Cited by 87 publications

References 27 publications

School-Based Intervention for the Treatment of Tsunami-Related Distress in Children: A Quasi-Randomized Controlled Trial

School-Based Intervention for the Treatment of Tsunami-Related Distress in Children: A Quasi-Randomized Controlled Trial

Preschool children facing mass trauma: Disasters, war and terrorism

School-Based Interventions Aimed at the Prevention and Treatment of Adolescents Affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake: A Three-Year Longitudinal Study

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