灾后孤儿创伤后应激障碍的发生发展及其认知神经机制

灾后孤儿亲历双重重大创伤, 是创伤后应激障碍(post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD)的高发群体; 同时, 巨大创伤对其认知功能和行为模式也带来一定程度的影响。本研究拟以灾后孤儿这一特殊群体为研究对象, 考察“PTSD发生发展及其认知神经机制”, 具体如下：(1) 采用序列研究设计, 展开灾后孤儿PTSD流行病学调查, 描述其PTSD发生发展、变化的轨迹和时程特点; (2) 展开横断研究, 考察灾后孤儿认知发展特点, 并通过结构方程模型, 揭示其PTSD发生发展的心理行为机制; (3) 采用眼动和脑电技术展开比较研究, 考察罹患PTSD孤儿的认知神经机制。本研究的研究结果将对今后的灾后孤儿安置及心理援助提供科学建议; 为有针对性地提供心理干预、制定心理干预的总体规划提供科学依据; 力争为今后孤儿的创伤心理的诊断、干预效果评估提供科学客观的指标和方法。

Development of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the Cognitive Neural Mechanism of PTSD among Orphans after Major Disaster

Persistent separation from parents immediately after a natural disaster (such as earthquake or hurricane), along with the loss of the child’s home, pets, toys, and friends predicts post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children. Orphans reported significantly more PTSD symptoms than the disaster and non-trauma control groups. Research on orphans shows convincingly that psychological trauma has an enormously damaging effect on their development, their mental and physical health, as well as cognition and behavior. Intervention, in the form of administrative systems and psychological support, would be enormously valuable, both to the orphans and to society. However, the effectiveness and efficiency of intervention can be greatly improved with a better understanding of both PTSD's development, and its cognitive neural mechanisms. To this end, our project consists of 3 major goals: (1) use methods taken from epidemiology to characterize the trajectory of PTSD in post-disaster orphans; (2) investigate changes in cognitive development and immunological function in post disaster orphans in a cross sectional study, revealing the mental and behavior mechanism of PTSD; (3) examine the cognitive neural mechanism of the PTSD by using eye tracking and event-related potentials technologies. Using the results of this project, we can provide expert insight into psychological support for orphans, suggesting effective administrative systems and models of psychological support for orphans in emergency settings.