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Biological Correlates of Child and Adolescent Responses to Disaster Exposure: a Bio-Ecological Model

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

Exposure to both human-caused and natural disasters is associated with a number of postevent reactions in youth including the experience of symptoms of several mental disorders. There is wide variability in these responses, with some youth having very intense exposure to the disaster and yet showing resilience or even personal growth, while others with low exposure sometimes show intensely negative reactions. Research findings are reviewed in this article to identify biological correlates of risk and resilience focusing on potential genetic, neurobiological, and physiological factors linked to the reactions of children exposed to disasters. A bio-ecological model is presented to couch this review of biological correlates of disaster exposure. The model predicts susceptibility to negative reactions after disaster exposure, and the biological correlates of disaster reactions can be understood in terms of this susceptibility as it relates to biological markers of the fear system.

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Carl F. Weems declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

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

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  1. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Iowa State University, 4380 Palmer, Ames, IA, 50011-4380, USA

    Carl F. Weems

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Correspondence to Carl F. Weems.

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

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Weems, C.F. Biological Correlates of Child and Adolescent Responses to Disaster Exposure: a Bio-Ecological Model. Curr Psychiatry Rep 17, 51 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-015-0588-7

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