School‐based intervention for prevention and treatment of elementary‐students' terror‐related distress in Israel: A quasi‐randomized controlled trial

A school‐based intervention for preventing and reducing children's posttraumatic stress‐related symptoms, somatic complaints, functional impairment, and anxiety due to exposure to terrorism was evaluated. In a quasi‐randomized controlled trial, elementary school students were randomly assigned to an eight‐session structured program, “Overshadowing the Threat of Terrorism” or to a waiting list control comparison group. Two months postintervention, the study group reported significant improvement on all measures. The authors conclude that a school‐based universal intervention may significantly reduce posttraumatic stress disorder‐ (PTSD‐) related symptoms in children repeatedly exposed to terrorist attacks and propose that it serve as a component of a public mental health approach dealing with children exposed to ongoing terrorism in a country ravaged by war and terrorism.