Citation

Breton JJ, Valla JP, Lambert J. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 1993; 32(2): 438-445.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Quebec, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, Publisher Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8444776

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: We report the findings of research conducted a year after an industrial disaster (PCB fire), which occurred on Montreal's South Shore in 1988. A total of 1,663 families were evacuated for a period of 18 days. The study evaluated 174 children between the ages of three and eleven years: 87 in the exposed group and 87 in the control sample. METHOD: Structured questionnaires were administered to the children and their mothers and fathers during home visits. RESULTS: Based on the responses of the children and the mothers, children aged 6 to 11 years displayed more overall internalized and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms than did those in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrates that the mental health of fathers as well as mothers correlates with children's symptoms and that parents are able to accurately observe their child's reaction to a disaster.

Language: en