The Emotional Edge

Understanding Children's Reactions to Trauma

Volume 3 / Issue 1 / Fall 2002

Following crises and traumatic events, parents of gifted students have asked, “Is my gifted child more at risk from trauma than other students?” That is, is he or she more sensitive or vulnerable to traumatic events?

A review of the literature on the short- and long-range effects of trauma on children’s lives suggests an answer. A growing body of knowledge has developed during the past 20 years about the impact on children of floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, kidnappings, abuse, nuclear accidents, school shootings, and such events as the Oklahoma City bombing. In a few years we will have a better understanding of the long-term impact of September 11 on our nation’s youth.

Understanding Reactions in Context

The context in which trauma occurs has a significant impact on one’s reaction to it. The evidence suggests that in addition to age, factors such as intensity of exposure, degree of life threat, loss of a loved one or friend, and degree of parental support affect a child’s experience of trauma and the eventual outcome.

Intensity of Exposure

Severity of exposure to a disaster is strongly related to a child’s posttraumatic stress symptoms and anxiety. Studies of Hurricane Hugo, Hurricane Andrew, and the San Francisco earthquake of 1989 have concluded that children with the greatest exposure develop the most severe trauma symptoms.

Degree of Life Threat

In one study of survivors of child sexual abuse, it was found that the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder is directly related to the degree of life threat. In a second study, in which children who had been kidnapped and buried in a trailer truck in Chowchilla, California, were interviewed, every child was found to have psychic trauma and kidnapping-related fears. Four years after the kidnapping, 92% of these children expressed a sense of foreshortened future, and 50% continued to have dreams in which they died.

Loss of a Loved One or Friend

Disaster studies show that the severity of post-traumatic stress correlates with personal loss. In a study of the Oklahoma City bombing, researchers found that bereaved children had significantly higher symptomatology than nonbereaved children and that individuals who had lost an immediate family member had the highest symptom-atology.

Degree of Parental Support

In a review of the literature on disasters and their effects on children, investigators concluded that one of the most influential factors is how parents react. The investigators found much less stress in families in which the parents felt comfortable expressing their distress and providing care for their children. The effects of trauma were greater in children whose parents themselves suffered from post-traumatic stress and consequently could not provide emotional support. Following a natural disaster, moreover, immediate separation from parents, ongoing maternal preoccupation with the trauma, and altered family functioning were highly predictive of distress in children.

Researchers have also found that parents are not always aware of their children’s reactions to trauma. For instance, following the nuclear incident at Three Mile Island, many children were found to have more symptoms than their parents realized and to have more symptoms than the parents themselves. Teachers, even more than parents, typically underreport psychological problems in children.

Final Thoughts

Gifted children do not appear to be at greater risk from the stress of traumatic events than other children. In fact, their better-developed cognitive abilities and problem-solving skills may enable gifted children to cope better with the demands placed on them following trauma. However, this hypothesis requires further study.
—Philip J. Lazarus, Ph.D.

Philip J. Lazarus is associate professor and director of the School Psychology Training Program at Florida International University. He chairs the National Association of School Psychologists’ National Emergency Assistance Team.