RISK FACTORS

RISK FACTORS

qExtent of destruction

qCloseness (proximity) to disaster

qSubjective response

§Experienced death threat

§General distress

qLost loved one or friend

qFemale gender

IMMEDIATE REACTIONS

IMMEDIATE REACTIONS

Physical ( Up to Down)

qMobilisation of the body

•Adrenaline

•Nor-adrenaline

q       |

q       |

qPhysical mobilisation

•Rapid reaction

•Ready to handle danger

q         |

q         |

qBlock/reduce pain

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Mental

qq Mental mobilisation

•Previous experience and knowledge available

•Increased sensory sharpness

•Focussed attention

•Strong memory formation

•Rapid processing of information

•

• q Emotional suppression 

    



IMMEDIATE REACTIONS, Health, Trauma and Disaster, Family, Children,

PSYCHOLOGICAL CHALLENGES

PSYCHOLOGICAL CHALLENGES

•Natural resilience must be cultivated – there is widespread resilience if the family and wider social fabric can be kept intact

•How do we foster resilience on the individual, family and community level?

•For this to happen community mobilization and supportive social environments are needed

•Most large-scale disasters demand international cooperation

•Mental health issues are no exception to this

•In resource poor countries problems of everyday living may take priority over mental health issues

•Organisational fragmentation, problems in command, cooperation and communication are common – hence IASC guidelines

Children, Family, Girls, Girls Development, Health, Trauma and Disaster,

FAMILY PERSPECTIVE

FAMILY PERSPECTIVE

§Family consequences can be dramatic as events impact family cohesion, structure, communication and role distribution

§Family interaction patterns change in various ways

i.e. parental over protection or parental withdrawal

§Concepts that grasp family dynamics are lacking .

GRIEF, TRAUMA AND ATTACHMENT

GRIEF, TRAUMA AND ATTACHMENT

§1. The attachment system regulates the interplay between the child’s exploration and their need for safety and protection – a biologically based system with regulation mechanisms both on the child and adult side

§

2. This fine-tuned system is totally dependent on the presence of the mother (father). A lack of emotional or physical presence can lead to different forms of ambivalent, insecure or disorganised attachment

§

3. Recent research show that parents that struggle following loss and trauma often have an insecure or anxious attachment

§

4. There is a danger that small children get their attachment disturbed and that parental capacity is reduced .

§5. It is through the fine-tuned interplay between the caregiver and the child that the foundation for future trust, self-worth, identity and ability to regulate feelings are developed

§6. Especially the ability to regulate emotions is important. When the mother (father) soothes or calms down or consoles with her voice, her words and explanations ”it is not dangerous”, as well as her body, the executive systems in the cortex are developed. Gradually the child him/herself can reduce the alarm bells and the action systems (fight, flight, freeze, surrender) in the deeper structures of the brain

§7.With reduced parental capacity this development is under stimulated or deviated

GRIEF, TRAUMA AND ATTACHMENT

SUMMARY OF WHAT WE KNOW

SUMMARY OF WHAT WE KNOW

•Violence exposure is especially associated with dramatic and extensive after-effects

•

•Children’s trauma history is the strongest contributor to drug abuse in adolescence

•

•Physical and sexual abuse in childhood is strongly associated with psychiatric problems in adult age

•

•Cumulative traumas in childhood is associated with reduced somatic health in adulthood .

Children, Family, Girls, Girls Development, Health, Trauma and Disaster