PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Children's preexisting symptoms influence their reactions to disaster coverage on TV

2012-11-06
(Press-News.org) After a natural disaster occurs, we often find ourselves glued to the TV, seeking out details about the extent of the damage and efforts at recovery. While research has shown that exposure to this kind of coverage is associated with symptoms of traumatic stress in youths, new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests that the relationship isn't quite so simple. The new study finds that while the amount of exposure to disaster coverage matters, children's preexisting symptoms of posttraumatic stress also play an important role.

As part of an ongoing study, Carl Weems and his colleagues at the University of New Orleans followed 141 fourth through eighth graders, all of whom attended a single school in a New Orleans neighborhood that had experienced massive damage and flooding following Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005. The children were evaluated for PTSD symptoms 24 and 30 months after Katrina. The researchers also evaluated the children's PTSD symptoms and amount of disaster-related TV viewing one month after Hurricane Gustav, which made landfall on August 31, 2008.

To assess perceptions of self-harm, the researchers asked the children whether they thought they would get hurt during Hurricane Gustav. To measure their overall distress, they asked the children how scared they were during the hurricane. The data were collected as part of the school's counseling curriculum, and the children completed all of the measures in a group classroom setting with the assistance of trained staff.

About 25% of the children said they had watched "a lot" of disaster coverage on TV, while 31% said they had watched "a whole lot." The amount of Gustav-related coverage that the children watched was associated with their PTSD symptoms post-Gustav. Subsequent analyses revealed that pre-Gusatv symptoms, perceptions of self-harm, and viewing of disaster-related coverage were all predictors of symptoms of PTSD following Hurricane Gustav. But, as the researchers predicted, the relationship between TV viewing and post-Gustav symptoms depended on children's pre-Gustav symptoms. The relationship between TV viewing and post-Gustav symptoms of PTSD was significant only for children who had high levels of pre-Gustav symptoms.

The study is one of the first to use a prospective design to examine the relationship between TV viewing and children's stress reactions after disasters, allowing the researchers to investigate the role of possible factors that might contribute to children's symptoms both before and after a natural disaster.

Based on their findings, Weems and his colleagues believe that preexisting symptoms could be an important tool for identifying which children are most likely to be negatively affected by watching disaster-related coverage.

"Practitioners with young patients who have anxiety disorders such as PTSD may wish to emphasized to parents the potential effects of media," the researchers conclude.

### For more information about this study, please contact: Carl F. Weems at cweems@uno.edu.

The APS journal Psychological Science is the highest ranked empirical journal in psychology. For a copy of the article "Is TV Traumatic for All Youths? The Role of Preexisting Posttraumatic-Stress Symptoms in the Link Between Disaster Coverage and Stress" and access to other Psychological Science research findings, please contact Anna Mikulak at 202-293-9300 or amikulak@psychologicalscience.org.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Therapy with bone marrow-derived stem cells does not improve short-term recovery after heart attack

2012-11-06
Administering to patients stem cells derived from their own bone marrow either three or seven days after a heart attack is safe but does not improve heart function six months later, according to a clinical trial supported by the National Institutes of Health. The results of the trial, called Transplantation In Myocardial Infarction Evaluation (TIME), mirror a previous, related study, LateTIME, which found that such cells (called autologous stem cells) given two to three weeks after a heart attack did not improve heart function. Both TIME and LateTIME were conducted by ...

Drought in 2001-2002 fueled Rocky Mountain pine beetle outbreak

Drought in 2001-2002 fueled Rocky Mountain pine beetle outbreak
2012-11-06
Results of a new study show that episodes of reduced precipitation in the Southern Rocky Mountains, especially during the 2001-2002 drought, greatly accelerated a rise in numbers of mountain pine beetles. The overabundance is a threat to regional forests. The research is the first to chart the evolution of the current pine beetle epidemic in the southern Rocky Mountains. It compared patterns of beetle outbreaks in the two primary host species, the ponderosa pine and lodgepole pine, said University of Colorado at Boulder (CU-Boulder) researcher Teresa Chapman. A paper ...

Controlling vascular disease may be key to reducing prevalence of Alzheimer's disease

2012-11-06
Amsterdam, NL, November 5, 2012 – Over the last 15 years, researchers have found a significant association between vascular diseases such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes type 2, hyperlipidemia, and heart disease and an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. In a special issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, leading experts provide a comprehensive overview of the pathological, biochemical, and physiological processes that contribute to Alzheimer's disease risk and ways that may delay or reverse these age-related abnormalities. "Vascular risk factors ...

Stirred not mixed: How seawater turbulence affects marine food webs

Stirred not mixed: How seawater turbulence affects marine food webs
2012-11-06
New research shows that ocean turbulence directly affects the ability of microscopic marine organisms to recycle organic material back into the food web. Results of the study are published in this week's issue of the journal Science. Scientists John Taylor of Cambridge University and Roman Stocker at MIT found that there's a relationship between the natural movement of water in the ocean and the ability of marine bacteria to act as recyclers. "The research provides a unique insight into how small organisms, such as bacteria, interact with their environment," says ...

Researchers discover how underground rodent wards off cancer

Researchers discover how underground rodent wards off cancer
2012-11-06
Biologists at the University of Rochester have determined how blind mole rats fight off cancer—and the mechanism differs from what they discovered three years ago in another long-lived and cancer-resistant mole rat species, the naked mole rat. The team of researchers, led by Professor Vera Gorbunova and Assistant Professor Andrei Seluanov, found that abnormally growing cells in blind mole rats secrete the interferon beta protein, which causes those cells to rapidly die. Seluanov and Gorbunova hope the discovery will eventually help lead to new cancer therapies in humans. ...

Researchers create laser the size of a virus particle

2012-11-06
A Northwestern University research team has found a way to manufacture single laser devices that are the size of a virus particle and that operate at room temperature. These plasmonic nanolasers could be readily integrated into silicon-based photonic devices, all-optical circuits and nanoscale biosensors. Reducing the size of photonic and electronic elements is critical for ultra-fast data processing and ultra-dense information storage. The miniaturization of a key, workhorse instrument -- the laser -- is no exception. The results are published in the journal Nano Letters. "Coherent ...

Healthcare ethics consultants share lessons learned

2012-11-06
Healthcare ethics consultants are called upon in the most difficult of times; where do they turn for advice? The American Society For Bioethics and Humanities' Clinical Ethics Consultation Affairs Committee (CECA) is taking a community approach, creating an online forum for feedback and shared experiences to accompany a paper published in the Fall 2012 issue of the Journal of Clinical Ethics. The paper, titled "HCEC Pearls and Pitfalls: Suggested Do's and Don'ts for Healthcare Ethics Consultants," compiles lessons learned and advice for best practices from members of ...

The Phosphorus Index: Changes afoot

2012-11-06
Phosphorus (P) is both an essential nutrient in agricultural fields and a contributor to poor water quality in surface waters. To encourage improved P management in fields, the P Index was proposed as a risk assessment tool in 1992. After 20 years of use, modifications, and growing pains, does the P Index accurately assess the risk of P loss? A special section being published next month in the Journal of Environmental Quality addresses that question. The collection of papers grew out of a symposium at the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, ...

Is your memory playing tricks on you? Check your medicine cabinet!

2012-11-06
This press release is available in French. Common medication to treat insomnia, anxiety, itching or allergies can have a negative impact on memory or concentration in the elderly, according to Dr. Cara Tannenbaum, Research Chair at the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (IUGM, Montreal Geriatric University Institute) and Associate Professor of Medicine and Pharmacy at the University of Montreal (UdeM). Up to ninety percent of people over the age of 65 take at least one prescription medication. Eighteen percent of people in this age group complain of memory ...

Research Shows HAMP Fell Short for Many Homeowners

2012-11-06
According to current data, foreclosures continue to remain high all across the nation -- proof that the real estate market is far from stabilized. The Home Affordable Modification Program, known as HAMP, put forth in 2007, was designed to help homeowners modify their mortgage to a sustainable monthly payment and avoid foreclosure. However, data from a new study conducted at the Columbia Business School indicates that the initiative simply fell short and failed to help many borrowers. Tomasz Piskorski, an Edward S. Gordon Associate Professor of Real Estate at Columbia ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Major review highlights latest evidence on real-time test for blood – clotting in childbirth emergencies

Inspired by bacteria’s defense strategies

Research spotlight: Combination therapy shows promise for overcoming treatment resistance in glioblastoma

University of Houston co-leads $25 million NIH-funded grant to study the delay of nearsightedness in children

NRG Oncology PREDICT-RT study completes patient accrual, tests individualized concurrent therapy and radiation for high-risk prostate cancer

Taking aim at nearsightedness in kids before it’s diagnosed

With no prior training, dogs can infer how similar types of toys work, even when they don’t look alike

Three deadliest risk factors of a common liver disease identified in new study

Dogs can extend word meanings to new objects based on function, not appearance

Palaeontology: South American amber deposit ‘abuzz’ with ancient insects

Oral microbes linked to increased risk of pancreatic cancer

Soccer heading does most damage to brain area critical for cognition

US faces rising death toll from wildfire smoke, study finds

Scenario projections of COVID-19 burden in the US, 2024-2025

Disparities by race and ethnicity in percutaneous coronary intervention

Glioblastoma cells “unstick” from their neighbors to become more deadly

Oral bacterial and fungal microbiome and subsequent risk for pancreatic cancer

New light on toxicity of Bluefin tuna

Menopause drug reduces hot flashes by more than 70%, international clinical trial finds

FGF21 muscle hormone associated with slow ALS progression and extended survival

Hitting the right note: The healing power of music therapy in the cardiac ICU

Cardiovascular disease risk rises in Mexico, despite improved cholesterol control

Flexible optical touch sensor simultaneously pinpoints pressure strength and location

Achalasia diagnosis simplified to AI plus X-ray

PolyU scholars pioneer smart and sustainable personal cooling technologies to address global extreme heat

NIH grant aims for childhood vaccine against HIV

Menstrual cycle and long COVID: A relation confirmed

WMO report on global water resources: 2024 was characterized by both extreme drought and intense rainfall

New findings explain how a mutation in a cancer-related gen causes pulmonary fibrosis

Thermal trigger

[Press-News.org] Children's preexisting symptoms influence their reactions to disaster coverage on TV