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School‐based intervention for prevention and treatment of elementary‐students' terror‐related distress in Israel: A quasi‐randomized controlled trial
Author(s) -
Berger Rony,
PatHorenczyk Ruth,
Gelkopf Marc
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.20225
Subject(s) - randomized controlled trial , distress , intervention (counseling) , terrorism , anxiety , anxiety disorder , mental health , psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry , poison control , suicide prevention , public health , injury prevention , posttraumatic stress , medicine , medical emergency , nursing , surgery , archaeology , history
Abstract 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.