The Emotional Impact of Disaster on Children and Families

There is a range of emotional responses or reactions that can be seen, some of which are more likely to occur during or immediately after the disaster and some which are more likely to be seen at a later time. The emotional response to disaster are often conceptualized as a linear model with different phases. While this may be valid for many children, it is important that many others follow different pathways and that this is not necessarily problematic.

The first stage, occurring immediately after the traumatic experience, often include reactions of fear, denial, confusion, and sorrow as well as feelings of relief if loved ones are unharmed. It may also include dissociative symptoms: feelings of emotional numbing, being in a daze, a sense of what has occurred is not real or that one doesn’t feel like oneself, or lack of memory for some aspects of the experience (amnesia).

The second stage occurs days or weeks after the disaster. In many children it may be characterized by regressive behavior (in younger children) and signs of emotional stress such as anguish, fear, sadness, and depressive symptoms; hostility and aggressiveness against others; apathy, withdrawal, sleep disturbance, somatization, pessimistic thoughts about the future, and repetitive play enactment of the trauma. Repetitive play may take the form of reenacting the trauma or of distancing the child from thinking about it.

As long as these symptoms do not impair normal childhood activities, they are considered part of the normal recovery process and they can be expected to lessen or disappear after some weeks.

Emotional responses that are persistent and impair a return to normal functioning should be considered pathologic.