Life Events and Recovery from Trauma: A Three-Year Follow-Up after Post-Disaster Teacher-Mediated Intervention - Abstract
Background: There is growing interest regarding the link between adversity and subsequent adaptation. Some argue that moderate stress is beneficial, while others claim that is deleterious. This study explored the association between pre-disaster stressful life events (SLEs) and the long-term post-disaster functioning of children who survived an earthquake and underwent a psychological intervention. These children displayed better functioning than non intervention children three years later.
Method: The sample included 66 children who participated in a teacher-delivered intervention. Pre-intervention (Time 1), we assessed SLEs experienced on the year prior to the earthquake and posttraumatic symptoms (PTS). Three years later (Time 2), PTS and daily functioning were assessed. One-way ANOVAs compared PTS, PTS decline and daily functioning of SLE categories.
Results: Marginally significant and significant main effects were found for PTS at Time 1 and PTS decline, respectively. Post-hoc analyses showed greater SLEs were associated with higher PTS at Time 1, greater PTS decline, and better functioning at Time 2.
Limitations: Due to the nature of disaster research, a parallel non-intervention control group was not assessed.
Conclusion: Though suffering more in the short-term, children experiencing higher pre-disaster adversity have the potential to function better if helped to process the trauma.