Boston Marathon Bombing Causing PTSD in Children
- 10 years ago
According to a study from researchers at Boston University, about one out of nine children who were in attendance at the Boston Marathon bombing have symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. The statistics are based on a survey of 460 parents with children age 4 to 19 in the Boston area.
According to a study from researchers at Boston University, about one out of nine children who were in attendance at the Boston Marathon bombing have symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
The statistics are based on a survey of 460 parents with children age 4 to 19 in the Boston area.
Results of the survey show that around 11 percent of the children showed signs of PTSD, which is similar to numbers from a
survey of New York City area children six months after the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center.
The symptoms associated with PTSD include anxiety, fear of crowded places, flashbacks to the traumatic event and nightmares.
Jonathan S. Comer, a child trauma expert who led the research. “There was an enormous mental health toll associated with direct exposure. And there also was a toll with kids exposed to the manhunt, which was an unfolding and uncontained situation that lasted much longer than the bombing itself.”
Another survey of parents with children that were exposed to the shelter-in-place lockdown in Boston during the five day manhunt for the suspected bombers also had similar results for rates of PTSD symptoms.
According to a study from researchers at Boston University, about one out of nine children who were in attendance at the Boston Marathon bombing have symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
The statistics are based on a survey of 460 parents with children age 4 to 19 in the Boston area.
Results of the survey show that around 11 percent of the children showed signs of PTSD, which is similar to numbers from a
survey of New York City area children six months after the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center.
The symptoms associated with PTSD include anxiety, fear of crowded places, flashbacks to the traumatic event and nightmares.
Jonathan S. Comer, a child trauma expert who led the research. “There was an enormous mental health toll associated with direct exposure. And there also was a toll with kids exposed to the manhunt, which was an unfolding and uncontained situation that lasted much longer than the bombing itself.”
Another survey of parents with children that were exposed to the shelter-in-place lockdown in Boston during the five day manhunt for the suspected bombers also had similar results for rates of PTSD symptoms.