Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Violence and Disasters: What Community Members Can Do - Help Children Who Experience Violence or Disaster

Written by NIMH

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Children Age 6 to 11

Children in this range may:

Isolate themselves
Become quiet around friends, family, and teachers
Have nightmares or other sleep problems
Become irritable or disruptive
Have outbursts of anger
Start fights
Be unable to concentrate
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Refuse to go to school
Complain of physical problems
Develop unfounded fears
Become depressed
Become filled with guilt
Feel numb emotionally
Do poorly with school and homework.

Adolescents Age 12 to 17

Children in this range have various reactions:

Flashbacks to the event (flashbacks are the mind reliving the event)
Avoiding reminders of the event
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use and abuse
Antisocial behavior i.e. disruptive, disrespectful, or destructive behavior
Physical complaints
Nightmares or other sleep problems
Isolation or confusion
Depression
Suicidal thoughts

Adolescents may feel guilty. They may feel guilt for not preventing injury or deaths. They also may have thoughts of revenge.

More About Trauma and Stress

Some children will have prolonged problems after a traumatic event. These may include grief, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Children may show a range of symptoms:

Re-experiencing the event
- Through play
- Through trauma-specific nightmares/ dreams
- In flashbacks and unwanted memories
- By distress over events that remind them of the trauma
Avoidance of reminders of the event
Lack of responsiveness
Lack of interest in things that used to interest them
A sense of having "no future"
Increased sleep disturbances
Irritability
Poor concentration
Be easily startled
Behavior from earlier life stages.

Children experience trauma differently. It is difficult to tell how many will develop mental health problems. Some trauma survivors get better with only good support. Others need counseling by a mental health professional.