TY - JOUR
T1 - Children of terrorism survivors
T2 - Physiological reactions seven years following a terrorist incident
AU - Pfefferbaum, Betty
AU - Tucker, Phebe
AU - North, Carol S
AU - Jeon-Slaughter, Haekyung
AU - Nitiéma, Pascal
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported in part by the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT) and the Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice, Department of Justice (DOJ) Award Number MIPT106-113-2000-020 (B. Pfefferbaum) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Grant Number MH40025 (C. S. North). Dr. North discloses employment by VA North Texas Health Care System, Dallas, Texas. Points of view in this document are those of the authors and do not represent the official position of MIPT; National Institute of Justice, DOJ; NIMH; the Department of Veterans Affairs; or the U.S. Government.
PY - 2014/5
Y1 - 2014/5
N2 - Objective The aim of this study was to examine psychiatric illness and physiological indicators in the children of Oklahoma City bombing survivors seven years after the event. Methods A study of 17 Oklahoma City bombing survivors and their 21 adolescent and young-adult children conducted seven years after the disaster used structured diagnostic interviews to examine psychiatric outcomes. Physiological measurements included heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and physiological reactivity measured in response to a semi-structured bombing-reminder interview. Results Results revealed a statistically significant positive association between survivors and their children with respect to both post-disaster and current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Also, children whose parents met diagnostic criteria for either post-disaster or current major depression were more likely to meet criteria for a post-disaster behavior disorder and for any post-disaster psychiatric disorder than children whose parents did not meet criteria for post-disaster or current major depression. Survivors' children meeting criteria for any post-disaster psychiatric diagnosis had higher heart rates during the pre-test, test, and post-test periods than children who did not meet criteria for any disorder. Children whose survivor parents met criteria for bombing-related PTSD and for any post-disaster psychiatric disorder had greater heart rate reactivity than those whose parents did not. Conclusion Findings of this study support previous literature on the relationships between children's psychiatric illness and physiological reactions and suggest interactions between disaster survivors' psychiatric illness and their children's psychiatric and physiological status.
AB - Objective The aim of this study was to examine psychiatric illness and physiological indicators in the children of Oklahoma City bombing survivors seven years after the event. Methods A study of 17 Oklahoma City bombing survivors and their 21 adolescent and young-adult children conducted seven years after the disaster used structured diagnostic interviews to examine psychiatric outcomes. Physiological measurements included heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and physiological reactivity measured in response to a semi-structured bombing-reminder interview. Results Results revealed a statistically significant positive association between survivors and their children with respect to both post-disaster and current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Also, children whose parents met diagnostic criteria for either post-disaster or current major depression were more likely to meet criteria for a post-disaster behavior disorder and for any post-disaster psychiatric disorder than children whose parents did not meet criteria for post-disaster or current major depression. Survivors' children meeting criteria for any post-disaster psychiatric diagnosis had higher heart rates during the pre-test, test, and post-test periods than children who did not meet criteria for any disorder. Children whose survivor parents met criteria for bombing-related PTSD and for any post-disaster psychiatric disorder had greater heart rate reactivity than those whose parents did not. Conclusion Findings of this study support previous literature on the relationships between children's psychiatric illness and physiological reactions and suggest interactions between disaster survivors' psychiatric illness and their children's psychiatric and physiological status.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.comppsych.2014.01.002
DO - 10.1016/j.comppsych.2014.01.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 24559726
AN - SCOPUS:84898769543
SN - 0010-440X
VL - 55
SP - 749
EP - 754
JO - Comprehensive Psychiatry
JF - Comprehensive Psychiatry
IS - 4
ER -