A recent survey published online revealed that a high rate of tornadoes and other natural disasters could affect the children. Even though some experts expected that natural disaster could lead to behavior problems among children, some of them surprisingly showed resilience, leaving researchers in awe.
Based on a study published online in the Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, some of the after-effects included a variable rise in anxiety levels of children while some started showing greater resilience and others showed aggressive behavior.
Initially, this behavior was seen as a normal performance and was thought to slide by with time. However, it only intensified differently in various people.
Eureka Alert reports that the survey examined around 360 children in grades 4 - 6. These included relaxed and carefree children and those that were currently or previously enrolled in a behavioral treatment program. The results were surprising, after the children suffered through a tornado, showing differing reactions.
Some reportedly indulged deeper into a dark mental state, especially after they felt they had a perfectly happy life and then a huge disaster took them by surprise and threw them off the cliff. They could do nothing about it hence completely destroying them.
Other children who didn't have such a happy life, however, showed signs of recovery after the natural disaster. The already available anxiousness helped them handle the disaster more resiliently compared to children that were happy and contented. Improvements were seen in them, according to NAEYC.
One reason of this difference can be that the happy children were taken by the dreadful impact all of a sudden, while other children were already going through something devastating. These other kids were already part of a program that was training them to deal with their mental condition, which is why rather than dipping down more into darkness, they came out of it and handled the whole incident way better.
This is one reason why programs and societies should provide training. They should also educate the children and their families so that the impact of such occurrences can be reduced. Aside from parents and organizations, teachers could also help children cope with disasters and some effective tips could be found in Paul Myers' article.
What do you think is the effective way in helping children cope with natural disasters? Share them below.
