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OBJECTIVE: Circumstances surrounding the New Madrid earthquake prediction on Dec. 3, 1990, offered a unique opportunity to study the effects of a disaster warning stage on children and adolescents. METHOD: An initial structured interview was administered to 553 third- and 10th-grade students before December 3, with follow-up interviews conducted 6-8 weeks later. RESULTS: This study documents the existence of a mild but prevalent PTSD-like reaction that arose from exposure to a prediction of disaster. CONCLUSIONS: Further study of anticipatory stress reactions is needed to provide insights into the development of methods for providing support to children during disaster warnings.
Kiser et al. (Fri,) studied this question.