Effects of extreme weather events on child mood and behavior.
Jennifer L Barkin, Massimiliano Buoli, Carolann Lee Curry and 4 others
PMID 33720406WHAT IT FOUND
After extreme weather events, children may show posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety, aggression, sleep problems, and school difficulties.
Social support and caregiver presence are associated with less severe or shorter mood symptoms; other factors are mixed.
Key findings
01Up to 71% of children experience posttraumatic symptoms after disasters.
02Symptoms can persist from months to years, and severity or type of exposure is associated with persistence.
03Parent presence during the event and social support are described as protective.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
This is a narrative review, not a trial or systematic review, so it does not establish that any treatment works. The authors say the review is heavily influenced by literature from 2010 onward, so older literature is underrepresented. The review focuses mainly on adolescents, so effects on younger children may be less clear. Several risk and demographic findings are described as mixed, and the role of many variables is inconclusive. The supplied text does not report a systematic search strategy or how studies were selected.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this review as evidence that any treatment works. It summarizes associations with disaster exposure, social support, and coping, but it does not test interventions or show that changing those factors improves child mood or behavior.