Materials to Help Children and Adolescents Cope with Violence and Disaster

Format: Booklet
Institute: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Violence or natural disasters can cause trauma in all people, especially youth. Children and adolescents experience trauma differently from adults and from each other; reactions can be immediate or delayed and can differ in severity to include a range of behaviors, such as withdrawal, lack of concentration, sleep disturbance, and aggression.

NIMH has developed a series of guides to help adults learn about children’s responses to trauma and identify those who need the most support. “Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Violence and Disaster” is a series of three booklets that educate the public on what can be done to help young people who have experienced trauma as a result of violence or disaster. The booklets describe how children of different ages might react to trauma and what can be done in the first days and weeks following the event.

These helpful guides provide specific information for:

• Parents of children exposed to violence or disaster.
  
  
• Community members, such as teachers, clergy, and other adults.
  
  
• Rescue workers, including police, fire, and other first responders.

Next Steps
You can read all three booklets online.

What Can Parents Do is available at www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/helping-children-and-adolescents-cope-with-violence-and-disasters/parents.cfm.

What Community Members Can Do is located at www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/helping-children-and-adolescents-cope-with-violence-and-disasters/community-members.cfm.

What Rescue Workers Can Do can be accessed at www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/helping-children-and-adolescents-cope-with-violence-and-disasters/rescue-workers.cfm.