The stress of a disaster affects more than just those in the immediate area. Recent research has shown how news coverage of disasters can raise anxiety in children, and put them at increased risk of post-traumatic stress symptoms, even if the actual disaster occurred thousands of miles away, according to an article in The Conversation. With both the increasing number of disasters, and the increased ability of social media to rapidly spread news in often unfiltered ways, additional efforts need to be put into determining what factors are most likely to cause these symptoms, and whether certain populations are more vulnerable.
A study performed in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, using data from an already underway national study, provided some insight into the extent of the issue. This study, on Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development, was already tracking 11,800 children across the United States over a 10-year period. When it hit, the hurricane affected three sites used by the study (in Florida and South Carolina), and follow-up research on the participants showed a relationship between increased media consumption on the disaster and higher reporting of post-traumatic stress. However, similar increases were seen in participants in San Diego, who were far outside the affected areas.
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