J Korean Acad Nurs.  2004 Jun;34(4):636-645.

PTSD Symptoms in Elementary School Children After Typhoon Rusa

• Lee I
• Ha YS
• Kim YA
• Kwon YH

Abstract

PURPOSE: A natural disaster negatively affects children's emotional and behavioral adjustment. The purpose of this paper was to examine the prevalence, symptoms, and correlates of PTSD after the occurrence of Typhoon Rusa. METHOD: 261 elementary school children living in Kimcheon, which was a devastated rural area in South Korea by Typhoon Rusa, were selected. Data were collected 4 months after the disaster using the PTSD Reaction Index categories recommended by Frederick, severity of PTSD. RESULT: 12.3% of the children had either moderate or severe PTSD symptoms; 22.7% reported mild symptoms; and the remaining 65% had sub-clinical symptoms of PTSD. The most frequent symptom was recurrenct fear(67.0%). 13% to 17.2% of children exhibited difficulty in concentration, sleep disturbance, and guilt feeling. The regression model of severity of PTSD was composed of the level of exposure to traumatic experiences, grade in school, gender, negative coping style, and social support, and explained 34.3% for PTSD symptoms. Exposure to traumatic experiences was the strongest factor of all predictors. CONCLUSION: Emotional support from friends and coping style were correlated with PTSD severity. School-based interventions that emphasizes coping with disaster related problems and problem-solving may prove to be useful, and may aid in building close and supportive ties with teachers, classmates, and friends.

Keyword

Children; PTSD; Natural disaster

MeSH Terms

Adaptation, Psychological
Attitude to Health
Child
*Child Psychology
*Disasters
Female
Friends/psychology
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Korea/epidemiology
Life Change Events
Male
Models, Psychological
Prevalence
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Regression Analysis
Rural Health
School Health Services
Self Care/methods/psychology
Severity of Illness Index
Social Support
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/diagnosis/epidemiology/*etiology/psychology
Survivors