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https://hdl.handle.net/2440/60329
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Type: | Journal article |
Title: | Impact of childhood exposure to a natural disaster on adult mental health: 20-year longitudinal follow-up study |
Author: | McFarlane, A. Van Hooff, M. |
Citation: | British Journal of Psychiatry, 2009; 195(2):142-148 |
Publisher: | Royal College of Psychiatrists |
Issue Date: | 2009 |
ISSN: | 0007-1250 1472-1465 |
Statement of Responsibility: | Alexander C. McFarlane and Miranda Van Hooff |
Abstract: | Background: Studies examining the impact of childhood disaster exposure on the development of adult psychopathology report increased rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychopathology. Aims: To examine the rates of PTSD and other lifetime DSM–IV disorders in adults exposed to an Australian bushfire disaster as children in 1983 using a matched control sample recruited at the time of the original study. Method: A total of 1011 adults recruited from an original sample of 1531 were assessed 20 years following the fires using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI–2.1). Results: Results showed only a small direct impact of the fires on adult psychiatric morbidity. A higher proportion of bushfire survivors met criteria for ’any DSM–IV disorder’ and ’any anxiety’. Conclusions: Findings suggest that the long-term impact of a prominent trauma in childhood should be assessed in the context of other lifetime trauma in order to provide a more accurate account of PTSD prevalence rates. Declaration of interest: None. |
Keywords: | Humans Epidemiologic Methods Life Change Events Mental Disorders Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Disasters Fires Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Adolescent Adult Child Child, Preschool Australia Young Adult |
Rights: | © 2009 The Royal College of Psychiatrists |
DOI: | 10.1192/bjp.bp.108.054270 |
Published version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.108.054270 |
Appears in Collections: | Aurora harvest 5 Public Health publications |
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