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Addressing the Needs of Preschool Children in the Context of Disasters and Terrorism: Assessment, Prevention, and Intervention

  • Child and Family Disaster Psychiatry (B Pfefferbaum, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

The goal of this paper is to review the research literature regarding the needs of preschoolers in the context of disasters and terrorism with the aim of understanding the existing methods for assessment, prevention, and intervention to provide recommendations and point out required research and development.

Recent Findings

We differentiate between screening tools that provide initial evaluation and assessment tools for diagnosing preschooler children’s pathology and review possible interventions that address the preschool child’s needs before, during, and after the incident itself. We also emphasize the lack of dissemination and research of prevention programs and mass interventions for preschoolers.

Summary

Programs for community mass prevention and intervention for preschoolers should be developed and evaluated and interventions should be adapted for individual and group delivery. Moreover, the increase in the number of children refugees requires cultural adaptations of assessment measures and interventions.

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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Betty Pfefferbaum, MD, for her critical comments and professional support.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Leo Wolmer and Daniel Hamiel contributed equally.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Donald J. Cohen & Irving B. Harris Resilience Center, Association for Children at Risk, 18a Asherman St., 67199, Tel-Aviv, Israel

    Leo Wolmer, Daniel Hamiel, Lee Pardo-Aviv & Nathaniel Laor

  2. Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Herzlyia Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel

    Leo Wolmer & Daniel Hamiel

  3. Tel-Aviv-Brüll Community Mental Health Center, Clalit Health Services, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Daniel Hamiel

  4. Departments of Psychiatry and Medical Education, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel

    Nathaniel Laor

  5. Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Nathaniel Laor

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  1. Leo Wolmer
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  2. Daniel Hamiel
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  3. Lee Pardo-Aviv
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  4. Nathaniel Laor
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Leo Wolmer.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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The work on this manuscript was supported by a grant from the Harris Family Foundation, Chicago, IL.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Child and Family Disaster Psychiatry

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Wolmer, L., Hamiel, D., Pardo-Aviv, L. et al. Addressing the Needs of Preschool Children in the Context of Disasters and Terrorism: Assessment, Prevention, and Intervention. Curr Psychiatry Rep 19, 40 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-017-0792-8

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