After disaster: responding to the psychological consequences of disasters for children and young people

Introduction

Disasters have a profound effect on individuals, families and communities. They usually result in widespread property damage and financial loss. In the worst cases, they bring injury and death.

Disasters also have other less immediate and obvious consequences: their negative effects on emotional wellbeing. These effects may last for months or even years.

 Children and young people are the focus of this book. In many ways,  their reactions to disaster may be similar to those of adults. However,  the developmental and age-related needs of children and adolescents  mean that the impact on them can be different.
Over the last ten years, a growing body of research has highlighted the  adverse psychological effects of disasters on children and young people. However, these effects are still not always acknowledged. There seem to be a number of reasons for this. Children, like adults, can appear to be fine, and parents and teachers may not want to think of them as suffering. Adults can mistakenly believe that children are “too young” to be affected by a disaster, or that it is best dealt with by not talking about it.

These adult-centred views deny some developmental realities. Children are probably more vulnerable than adults to disaster trauma because  they do not have the understanding, vocabulary and coping strategies to deal with these events. They are in a dependent situation, and they have a relatively limited capacity to determine what happens to them. This book is intended as a psychological “first aid” guide for teachers when students return to schools and early childhood centres after a disaster. It is based on a comprehensive review of the literature on the psychological effects of disasters on children and young people, undertaken by Specialist Education Services and funded by the Earthquake Commission. It aims to provide help with:

• responding to the needs of students within the school or centre after a major disaster
• identifying those students who are most at risk, and seeking help for them.

Disasters may be major emergencies, such as earthquakes, cyclones,  volcanic activity, floods, tsunamis, landslips and electrical storms; or  they may be local emergencies, such as fire or local flood, in some cases  on the school premises only. Other disasters affecting the community, such as transport-related accidents, toxic spills, or deliberate acts of human violence (murder, vandalism) may have similar psychological consequences.
For children and young people who have experienced disaster, the early childhood centre or school is the most natural support system beyond the family. Schools and other education facilities are a major source of activity, guidance and structure for their students. They provide the best site for delivering helping services in the aftermath of a disaster. Students spend as much time with their teachers and classmates as they do with their own families. An early therapeutic response by teachers can help them to recover. Teachers also have many opportunities to observe their students' reactions to disaster, and can make referrals for more specialised assistance when this is required.