Children’s Exposure to China’s Wenchuan Earthquake: Mental Health Sequelae

2019 ◽  
pp. 113-146
Author(s):  
Ya Zhou ◽  
Fang Fan ◽  
Yuanyuan Li
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Wenchuan Earthquake ◽  
Children’S Exposure

scholarly journals Don't Think That Kids Aren't Noticing: Indirect Pathways to Children's Fear of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Radanović ◽  
Isidora Micić ◽  
Svetlana Pavlović ◽  
Ksenija Krstić
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Information Transmission ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Direct Contact ◽  
Negative Information ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Children’S Exposure

The present study is couched within Rachman's three-pathway theory of fear acquisition (Rachman, 1977, 1991). Besides the direct contact with the objects of fear, this model also includes two indirect pathways to fear acquisition: negative information transmission and modeling. The study aims to explore the contribution of these three factors to the level of children's fear of COVID-19. The sample consisted of 376 children (59.6% girls), aged 7–19 (Mage = 12.77, SDage = 3.57), and one of their parents (Mage = 42.88, SDage = 6.00). The survey was conducted online during the COVID-19 national state of emergency in the Republic of Serbia. The children assessed their fear of COVID-19, general fearfulness, negative information transmission, and modeling by their parents, as well as the level of exposure to negative information outside their home. The parents assessed their own fear of COVID-19 and trait anxiety. Parents' anxiety, children's age, and children's general fearfulness were used as covariates. The results of our path analysis provide support for Rachman's notion of indirect pathways. The more the parents were afraid of COVID-19, the more they expressed this (either verbally or through their behavior), which in turn led to an increase in the children's fear of COVID-19. Furthermore, children's exposure to negative information related to COVID-19, provided by their teachers and peers or stemming from the media, directly contributed to the level of children's fear. The results of the study emphasize the importance of caregivers' behavior during global health crises and provide some clues as to what caregivers may do to protect their children's mental health in such circumstances.

scholarly journals Using Police Data to Measure Children’s Exposure to Neighborhood Violence: A New Method for Evaluating Relations Between Exposure and Mental Health

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Boxer ◽  
Elizabeth Sloan-Power ◽  
Eric Piza ◽  
Ashley Schappell
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Violent Crime ◽  
Internalizing Problems ◽  
Exposure To Violence ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Neighborhood Violence ◽  
Parent Reports ◽  
Police Data ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Children’S Exposure

Studies have identified a robust association between children’s exposure to violence and their mental health. Yet, most of this research has been based on self-reported exposure and self-reported mental health. In this study, we used a new, map-based method via police data for measuring children’s exposure to violent crime and compared it to child self-reports and parent reports of exposure. Results suggest that child self-reports of violence exposure may not be valid except for exposure to murder, but police and parent reports of violent crime can reveal interesting relations between violence and mental health. Children showed higher levels of internalizing problems in the absence of police-reported murder and parent-reported robbery. Discussion emphasizes implications for measurement as well as theory building.

scholarly journals School-based psychoeducation and storytelling: Associations with long-term mental health in adolescent survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Tanaka ◽  
H. Iso ◽  
A. Tsutsumi ◽  
S. Kameoka ◽  
Y. You ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Wenchuan Earthquake ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
School Based ◽  
Distressing Memories

Abstract Aims We explored the factors promoting long-term mental health among adolescent survivors of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China. We examined the associations of their long-term mental health with disaster-related storytelling and school-based psychoeducation, and of school-based psychoeducation with disaster-related storytelling. Methods A secondary school-based cross-sectional survey was conducted 6 years after the disaster. Participants with traumatic experiences such as injury, loss, witnessing someone's death/injury and home destruction (N = 1028, mean age 15, standard deviation 1.38, male 51%) were eligible. Mental health/disaster education (MHE/DE) was defined as taking one or more lessons in MHE and/or DE at school since the earthquake. Experiences of storytelling about the disaster involved expressing distressing memories and feelings regarding the earthquake since the disaster happened, according to four groups: never expressed distressing memories and feelings, expressed them through writing/drawing, expressed them through talking to lay supporters and expressed them through talking to health professionals. Analysis of covariance was used to compare mean scores on five selected subscales of the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) and the Psychotic-Like Experiences (PLEs) scale among the four storytelling groups. Linear regression analysis was used to identify the relationships between MHE/DE and current mental health as measured by the SCL-90, AIS and PLEs. The relationship between education and storytelling was probed by χ2 test. Results The talked-to-lay-supporters group showed better mental health on the SCL-90 (p ⩽ 0.001), AIS (p < 0.001) and PLEs (p = 0.004), while the consulted-health-professionals group showed worse mental health on the three dimensions of the SCL-90: depression (p = 0.05), anxiety (p = 0.02) and fear (p = 0.04), and on PLEs (p = 0.02) compared with the never-expressed group. MHE and DE were inversely associated with SCL-90, AIS and PLE scores. Participants who received these forms of education talked about their disaster experiences to lay supporters more than those who did not. Conclusions MHE and DE at school may promote adolescents’ mental health after a disaster. Experience of storytelling about the disaster to lay supporters may be helpful for long-term psychological recovery, and may be a potential mediating factor for school-based education and better mental health. Because of the cross-sectional nature of this study, causality cannot be inferred; therefore, further prospective intervention studies are needed to elucidate the effect of these factors on adolescent survivors’ mental health.

Evolutionary Mismatches in the Development of Today’s Children

2020 ◽  
pp. 220-265
Author(s):  
David F. Bjorklund
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Life History Strategy ◽  
Psychological Development ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Relative Lack ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Children’S Exposure

Differences between modern and ancient environments sometimes cause evolutionary mismatches. Many children are following an exceptionally slow life history strategy and as a result are safer and engage in less risky behavior than in the past (safetyism), although many are more psychologically fragile and less resilient. Excessive use of social media is associated with poorer physical and mental health, including increases in depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Today’s adolescents display hyper-individualism that emphasizes personal freedom and achievement. The relative lack of social bonding in individualistic societies is associated with increases in loneliness and mental health problems and can sometimes be exaggerated by social media use. Modern schools represent a mismatch with the environments of our forechildren. Similarly, young children’s exposure to digital media may have detrimental effects on subsequent learning and psychological development. Parents and educators can identify problems associated with evolutionary mismatches and design environments that make the lives of children happier.

scholarly journals The Combination of Sibling Victimization and Parental Child Maltreatment on Mental Health Problems and Delinquency

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 244-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheila R. van Berkel ◽  
Corinna Jenkins Tucker ◽  
David Finkelhor
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Child Abuse ◽  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
The Other ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Children’S Exposure ◽  
Child Age

This study examined how the combination of sibling victimization and parental child maltreatment is related to mental health problems and delinquency in childhood and adolescence. Co-occurrence, additive associations, and interactive associations of sibling victimization and parental child maltreatment were investigated using a sample of 2,053 children aged 5–17 years from the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence. The results provide primarily evidence for additive associations and only suggest some co-occurrence and interactive associations of sibling victimization and child maltreatment. Evidence for co-occurrence was weak and, when controlling for the other type of maltreatment, only found for neglect. Sibling victimization was related to more mental health problems and delinquency over and above the effect of child abuse and neglect. Moderation by sibling victimization depended on child age and was only found for the relation between both types of child maltreatment by parents and delinquency. For mental health, no interactive associations were found. These results highlight the unique and combined associations between sibling victimization on child development.

The Mental Health of Older Buddhists After the Wenchuan Earthquake

2011 ◽  
Vol 61 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 841-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xumei Wang ◽  
Ting Wang ◽  
Buxin Han
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Wenchuan Earthquake ◽  
The Wenchuan Earthquake

scholarly journals Weapon Involvement in the Victimization of Children

2017 ◽  
pp. 50-57
Author(s):  
Kimberly J. Mitchell ◽  
Sherry L. Hamby ◽  
Heather A. Turner ◽  
Anne Shattuck ◽  
Lisa M. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Exposure To Violence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Safety Practices ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Children’S Exposure

OBJECTIVE To report the prevalence of weapons involved in the victimization of youth with particular emphasis on weapons with a “high lethality risk” and how such exposure fits into the broader victimization and life experiences of children and adolescents. METHODS Data were collected as part of the Second National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence, a nationally representative telephone survey of youth ages 2 to 17 years and caregivers (N = 4114) conducted in 2011. RESULTS Estimates from the Second National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence indicate that almost 14 million youth, ages 2–17, in the United States have been exposed to violence involving a weapon in their lifetimes as witnesses or victims, or &gt;1 in 5 children in this age group. More than 2 million youth in the United States (1 in 33) have been directly assaulted in incidents where the high lethality risk weapons of guns and knives were used. Differences were noted between victimizations involving higher and lower lethality risk weapons as well as between any weapon involvement versus none. Poly-victims, youth with 7 or more victimization types, were particularly likely to experience victimization with any weapon, as well as victimization with a highly lethal weapon compared with nonpoly-victims. CONCLUSIONS Findings add to the field’s broadening conceptualization of youth victimization highlighting the potentially highly consequential risk factor of weapon exposure as a component of victimization experiences on the mental health of youth. Further work on improving gun safety practices and taking steps to reduce children’s exposure to weapon-involved violence is warranted to reduce this problem.

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