Posttraumatic symptomatology in children exposed to war

This study examines affective and behavioral symptomatology in two groups of school-age children who were traumatized to different degrees during the war in Croatia (N = 1034). Six self-reported questionnaires were used to assess the following: number and type of war experiences, PTSD symptoms, anxiety, depression, psychosomatic symptoms, and psychosocial adaptation. Canonical discriminant analysis yielded a significant discriminant function that indicates moderate differentiation between the two groups of children according to the assessed symptoms. The results of a 2 x 2 x 2 ANOVAs (gender x age x level of traumatization) indicate that the children's reactions to war traumata varied in respect to all factors, as well as their interaction. The results indicate that gender differences are more prominent in older children. Older girls report more posttraumatic stress reactions, anxiety and depression, but at the same time seem better adapted than boys. Younger children, particularly those who survived more war even report more PTSD symptoms than older children.     

Mental flexibility as resiliency factor among children exposed to political violence

The research focused on mental flexibility versus rigidity in explaining psychological adjustment in the violent conditions of Intifada, and in more peaceful times 3 years later, among 86 Palestinian children. A picture test based on Brunswik (1949) was applied to measure flexible‐rigid cognitive style, and neuroticism, self‐esteem, emotional disorders, and PTSD were used as outcome variables. Results revealed a moderating role of mental flexibility by showing that children were protected from negative long‐term consequences of traumatic events if their perception indicated mental flexibility. However, in the midst of violence mental flexibility was not associated with good psychological adjustment. Mental flexibility was, in turn, determined by environmental and cognitive factors: The more intelligent and the less exposed to traumatic events children were, the higher mental flexibility they showed.     

Decline of natural killer cell target binding and lytic activity in mice exposed to rotation stress

We examined the effect of rotation-induced stress on the percentage distribution of NK-YAC-1 target-binding cells and natural killer (NK) cell activity from splenic lymphocytes of C3H/HeJ mice. Following a 6-day stress regimen, we observed a marked decline in both the percentage of target-binding cells and in NK cell activity. This decline was first evident 13 days after initiation of stress and persisted for 2 weeks. Our data indicate that intermittent rotation stress over a 6-day period results in a delayed but persistent deleterious effect on NK-YAC-1 target binding and NK cell activity.     

Instrumental learning and cognitive flexibility processes are impaired in children exposed to early life stress

Children who experience severe early life stress show persistent deficits in many aspects of cognitive and social adaptation. Early stress might be associated with these broad changes in functioning because it impairs general learning mechanisms. To explore this possibility, we examined whether individuals who experienced abusive caregiving in childhood had difficulties with instrumental learning and/or cognitive flexibility as adolescents. Fifty‐three 14–17‐year‐old adolescents (31 exposed to high levels of childhood stress, 22 control) completed an fMRI task that required them to first learn associations in the environment and then update those pairings. Adolescents with histories of early life stress eventually learned to pair stimuli with both positive and negative outcomes, but did so more slowly than their peers. Furthermore, these stress‐exposed adolescents showed markedly impaired cognitive flexibility; they were less able than their peers to update those pairings when the contingencies changed. These learning problems were reflected in abnormal activity in learning‐ and attention‐related brain circuitry. Both altered patterns of learning and neural activation were associated with the severity of lifetime stress that the adolescents had experienced. Taken together, the results of this experiment suggest that basic learning processes are impaired in adolescents exposed to early life stress. These general learning mechanisms may help explain the emergence of social problems observed in these individuals.     

Post‐traumatic stress disorder and anxiety symptoms in children exposed to the 1999 Greek earthquake

Five months after the Athens earthquake of September 1999, 178 children from three districts of Athens at increasing distances from the epicenter were administered questionnaires to identify symptoms of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and the extent of personal threat experienced. It was found that PTSD and anxiety symptoms were significantly related to proximity to the epicenter, exposure to threat and female gender. Age did not have a significant main effect on either anxiety or PTSD symptoms, but there were significant interactions between age and the other main variables. In the region closest to the epicenter, the youngest children reported the highest PTSD and anxiety symptom scores, but in the group furthest from the epicenter the older children reported the highest PTSD and anxiety symptom scores. These findings were discussed in relation to direct and media‐imparted exposure to the earthquake.     

Reactivity and regulation in children prenatally exposed to cocaine

Children prenatally exposed to cocaine may be at elevated risk for adjustment problems in early development because of greater reactivity and reduced regulation during challenging tasks. Few studies have examined whether cocaine-exposed children show such difficulties during the preschool years, a period marked by increased social and cognitive demands and by rapid changes in reactivity and regulation. The authors addressed this question by examining frustration reactivity and regulation of behavior during a problem-solving task in cocaine-exposed and -unexposed preschoolers. Participants were 174 4.5-year-olds (M age = 4.55 years, SD = 0.09). Frustration reactivity was measured as latency to show frustration and number of disruptive behaviors, whereas regulation was measured as latency to approach and attempt the problem-solving task and number of problem-solving behaviors. Results indicated that cocaine-exposed children took longer to attempt the problem-solving task but that cocaine-exposed boys showed the most difficulties: They were quicker to express frustration and were more disruptive. Effect sizes were relatively small, suggesting both resilience and vulnerabilities.     

Altered stress responses in children exposed to early adversity: a systematic review of salivary cortisol studies

Pathological stress responses are implicated in numerous disorders. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function is influenced by gene-environment interaction, with early-life environmental adversity having long-lasting effects. We examine the evidence that, in humans, these effects are apparent from infancy. We systematically reviewed published findings on cortisol response to a stressor, in 0-5-year-olds already exposed to adversity. Adversity was defined as a negative environmental influence present post-conception. We searched Ovid MEDLINE (1950-May 2010), EMBASE (1980-May 2010) and PsychINFO (1806-May 2010). We included peer-reviewed, English language studies that analysed salivary cortisol before and after a standardised stressor. We identified 30 studies, of which 27 reported a significant effect of adversity on the cortisol response to stress. Six of these demonstrated an effect of prenatal substance exposure. Thirteen studies found that psychosocial adversity increased cortisol reactivity. Three studies reported that cortisol reactivity could be normalised by intervention programmes. The studies were heterogeneous, both in nature of adversity studied and in stressor used, precluding meta-analysis and assessment of publication bias. Our review presents evidence that adversity disrupts the stress response from an early age. Longitudinal studies are required to determine whether effects persist, alter with time, or are reversible with intervention.     

事故后飞行员心理健康状况动态研究

目的 研究飞行事故后,事故发生单位飞行员心理健康状况在时间维度上的变化规律。方法 采用症状自评量表（Symptom Checklist 90,SCL-90）对飞行事故发生单位的78名飞行员,于事故发生后3天、15天、2月以及6月进行调查分析。结果 飞行事故后,事故发生单位飞行员出现严重的急性心理应激反应,早期以躯体化为主,后期以焦虑、抑郁等负性情绪为主。结论 飞行事故后,应加强心理危机干预,消除和减轻飞行员的心理应激反应。     

War-related stress. Addressing the stress of war and other traumatic events

A task force on war-related stress was convened to develop strategies for prevention and treatment of psychological, psychosocial, and psychosomatic disorders associated with the Persian Gulf War and other extreme stressors facing communities in general. The task force focused on the return home, reunion, and reintegration of service personnel with their families and work. Although the Persian Gulf War was won with relative ease, negative psychological sequelae may develop in some individuals because of the stress of war, family disruption, financial difficulty, and changes in family routines. Typical stress reactions and modes of coping that are usually unsuccessful or destructive were outlined, and suggestions were made for monitoring these. In addition, guidelines for successful coping were developed. Special attention was given to children's reactions and needs. Recommendations were made for outreach and intervention on the policy, systems (e.g., schools, businesses, governmental agencies), family, and individual levels.     

Galectin-3 decreases in mice exposed to immobilization stress

Using M3/38 monoclonal antibody we have analyzed effects of immobilization stress on the expression of galectin-3 in liver, spleen and peritoneal macrophages from adult RFM and C3H mice, as well as from aged C3H mice (total of 22 animals). In all analyzed tissues, immobilization stress caused a significant decrease in the expression of galectin-3, ranging from 14% to 47%. The decrease of galectin-3 was observed in both strains of mice, as well as in old animals. Moreover, the same range of decrease (approximately 50%) was observed when cells grown in vitro were exposed to subculturing, or heat-shock. Although the biological significance of this effect is not known, it is very interesting that a single episode of immobilization stress was sufficient to cause a significant decrease in galectin-3, implicating that this beta-galactoside-binding lectin might be involved in the physiological response to psychological stress.     

Dimensionality of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in children exposed to disaster: results from confirmatory factor analyses.

Factor analytic studies of trauma victims' posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have offered conflicting hypotheses about how to conceptualize PTSD into symptom categories. The present study used confirmatory factor analyses of self-reported PTSD symptomatology from 5,664 child and adolescent victims of Hurricane Hugo to compare 10 models of PTSD dimensionality. PTSD was best represented by a 2nd-order PTSD factor that manifests in 3 symptom clusters (Intrusion/Active Avoidance, Numbing/Passive Avoidance, and Arousal). This model was cross-validated on 3 age groups (late childhood, early adolescence, and late adolescence), and results indicated factorial invariance across groups. PTSD symptoms varied in relative centrality to the underlying dimensions of PTSD, which differed in their relations with anxiety and degree of traumatic exposure. Implications for classification criteria and an empirically supported theory of PTSD are discussed.     

Altered grooming responses to stress in rats exposed prenatally to ethanol

The effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on grooming, locomotion, and rearing in response to stress were examined in adult rats whose mothers consumed a liquid diet containing 35% ethanol-derived calories (EDC). Offspring of both pair-fed 0% EDC mothers and ad libitum chow-fed mothers were included as controls. In Experiment 1, females groomed more than males following placement into a novel test chamber, but no differences due to prenatal treatment were observed. Ethanol-exposed animals groomed more than controls following the stress of a forced 1-min swim (Experiment 2), but when rats tested in Experiment 1 were observed again after forced swim stress (Experiment 3), no differences due to prenatal treatment or sex were observed. Experiment 4 examined the effects of pretreatment with 1 mg/kg naloxone on novelty-induced grooming and as in Experiment 1 prenatal treatment did not affect grooming responses. Females again groomed significantly more than males and naloxone reduced grooming equally for all groups. The results suggest that novelty-induced grooming is a sex-influenced behavior, with females grooming more than males, and that animals exposed prenatally to alcohol and tested as adults may have altered responses to certain stressors (i.e., forced swim) under specific conditions. The altered grooming response of alcohol-exposed rats to swim stress can be eliminated by preexposing them to novelty stress.     

Mental operations on number symbols by children

Children 4 to 6 years of age made choices among colors that had been associated with numbers. Prior to learning four number-color associations, pretraining on counting and ordering objects was given to half of the Ss. Associations were established by either absolute (paired associate) or relative (choice discrimination) methods, and then tests involving "more or less" questions on each of the possible six color pairs were given. Numerical associations were acquired best with absolute training or counting-ordering pretraining. Using the children's justifications for their responses, the test data were fit by Estes's (1966) scanning model; a response strength model based on Luce's (1959) axiom failed. Young children apparently possess an ordered numerical scale, can map this scale onto other nonquantitative symbols, and can generate, compare, and make ordinal decisions using these symbols.     

正义的战争与战争的正义——关于战争伦理的反思

War can be defined as organized political violence among two or more nations. In accordance with the purpose, processes and results of war, the ethics of war generally comprises three aspects: right ethics, action ethics and duty ethics. The most important issue in ethics of war is “justice”. “Justice” and “injustice” as a conceptual pair do not prescribe the objective character of war but rather convey a subjective attitude and ethical position that have the potential to compel a populace to either support or oppose a war. Translated by Zuo Gaoshan and Xi Yunpeng from Lunlixue Yanjiu 伦理学研究 (Studies in Ethtics), 2005, (6): 43–48     

Long-Term stress reactions in new immigrants to israel exposed to the chernobyl accident

Abstract

This comparison study examined the relation between presumed level of exposure to the accident at Chernobyl in 1986 to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychological symptoms (depression, somatization, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive style and interpersonal sensitivity), life events and the negative appraisal of the events surrounding the accident. The sample (N = 708) included new immigrants from the former Soviet Union (Confederation of Independent States) who arrived in Israel since 1989 from more exposed areas (n = 137), less exposed (n = 240) and a comparison sample (n = 331) who immigrated from other republics. The exposed groups had higher mean scores on all psychological outcome measures than the comparison group, particularly symptoms of PTSD. Both subsequent stressful life events and a negative, cognitive assessment of events contributed to present psychological distress, independent of exposure.     

Influence of in utero exposure to maternal depression and natural disaster-related stress on infant temperament at 6 months: The children of Superstorm Sandy

This study examined the effects of in utero exposure to maternal depression and Superstorm Sandy, a hurricane that hit metropolitan New York in 2012, on infant temperament at 6 months. Temperament was assessed using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised. Maternal depression was measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. The main effects and the interaction of maternal depression and Sandy exposure on infant temperament were examined using a multivariable generalized linear model. Results show that prenatal maternal depression was associated with lower emotion regulation and greater distress. Stratification and interaction analyses suggested that the adverse effects of prenatal maternal depression on problematic temperament were amplified by in utero Sandy exposure. This study underscores the importance of providing prenatal screening and treatment for maternal depression during pregnancy while also identifying high-risk families who may have suffered from disaster-related traumas to provide necessary services. As the frequency of natural disasters may increase due to climate change, it is important to understand the consequences of in utero stress on child development and to formulate plans for early identification.     

Mental health enhancement of children and youth

The enhancement of positive mental health in children is discussed as a needed emphasis in the area of pastoral care to children and youth. Three modes of providing such enhancement are given. These are parenting education services, mental health exercises for the children or youth, and preaching and worship ministries in the local church. Illustrations and applications of each are discussed.     

The relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and paternal parenting of adult children among ex-prisoners of war: a longitudinal study

The aversive impact of combat and combat-induced posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on parenting of young children has been examined in a few studies. Nevertheless, the toll of war captivity on parenting and the long-term relations between posttraumatic symptoms and paternal parenting of adult children remains unknown. This longitudinal study examined paternal parenting of adult children among war veterans, some of whom were held in captivity. Furthermore, we examined the mediating role of PTSD symptoms in the association between captivity and parenting. The sample included two groups of male Israeli veterans from the 1973 Yom Kippur War: ex-prisoners of war (ex-POWs) and comparable veterans who had not been held captive. Both groups were assessed via self-report measures of PTSD at three time points: Time 1 (18 after the war), Time 2 (30 after the war), and Time 3 (35 after the war) years after the war. Results shows that ex-POWs reported lower levels of positive parenting compared to comparison group veterans at Time 3. Furthermore, PTSD symptoms at Time 1, Time 2, and Time 3 mediated the association between captivity experience and parenting at Time 3. In addition, it was found that increases in the levels of PTSD symptom clusters over time were associated with lower levels of positive parenting at Time 3.     

Executive function in preschool children prenatally exposed to methadone or buprenorphine

Although an increasing number of children are born with prenatal methadone or buprenorphine exposure, little is still known about the potential long-term effects of these opioids. The aim of this study was to investigate executive function (EF) in children of women in opioid maintenance therapy (OMT). A total of 66 children (aged 48–57 months) participated in the study, 35 of which had histories of prenatal methadone or buprenorphine exposure. EF was measured using a battery of neuropsychological tests and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function—Preschool Version (BRIEF-P). Results showed that children of women in OMT perform lower on tasks of short-term memory and inhibition compared to nonexposed children, which was mainly associated with lower maternal education and employment rate. The OMT group scored significantly lower on all EF tasks compared to the nonexposed group, although scores fell within the average range on all measures. The development of these children should be monitored to assess for the possible problem behaviors and to promote optimal outcomes.