Dass-Brailsford Priscilla, Thomley Rebecca S Hage, Jain Dipana, Jarrett E Sterling
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Washington, DC USA.
Orion Associates, Prospect, Illinois USA.
J Child Adolesc Trauma. 2021 Oct 23;15(3):899-909. doi: 10.1007/s40653-021-00413-6. eCollection 2022 Sep.
Haiti has experienced many major natural disasters in the past decade that included Hurricane Matthew which led to mass damage to property, a depletion of basic resources, human fatalities and injuries, and mental health consequences that affected the poorest. The current study focused on the psychological effects of Hurricane Matthew on Haitian children and adolescents. Children display heightened depression, and PTSD symptoms in the aftermath of disasters (Hausman et al., Journal of Family Psychology 34:836-845, 2020), however, the researchers anticipated that children living in orphanages would display more severe mental health symptoms than those living with their families, because of their additional stressor of family loss. Using a convenience sample, quantitative data was collected using several instruments, in a survey format, that were individually administered to a sample of 77 adolescents. Participants had high depressive scores and reported multiple adverse events and limited access to basic needs. In comparing subgroups, we found children who were in orphanages reported significantly fewer adverse childhood experiences than those living with their families. This is likely because orphanages in Haiti consistently provide children with a safe and stable environment, buffering them against the traumatic effects of disasters. In contrast, children living with their families reported witnessing or experiencing interpersonal violence, neglect and abuse in addition to disaster-related stress. Before addressing the issues faced by disaster-affected children in Haiti, the systemic issues that maintain the socio-economic deprivation of so many citizens must be addressed. An important step is for policymakers to collaborate with mental health providers to develop community interventions that are low-cost and easily accessible. These interventions must consider and incorporate the social context and cultural patterns of help-seeking and treatment utilization in Haiti.
在过去十年中，海地经历了许多重大自然灾害，其中包括飓风马修，这场飓风导致财产大规模受损、基本资源耗尽、人员伤亡，以及对最贫困人群产生了心理健康影响。当前的研究聚焦于飓风马修对海地儿童和青少年的心理影响。灾难过后，儿童会表现出更严重的抑郁和创伤后应激障碍症状（豪斯曼等人，《家庭心理学杂志》第34卷：836 - 845页，2020年），然而，研究人员预计，生活在孤儿院的儿童会比与家人生活在一起的儿童表现出更严重的心理健康症状，因为他们还承受着家庭丧失这一额外压力源。通过便利抽样，采用多种工具以调查形式收集定量数据，这些工具分别施用于77名青少年样本。参与者的抑郁得分较高，报告了多种不良事件，且基本需求难以满足。在比较亚组时，我们发现生活在孤儿院的儿童报告的不良童年经历明显少于与家人生活在一起的儿童。这可能是因为海地的孤儿院一直为儿童提供安全稳定的环境，保护他们免受灾难创伤影响。相比之下，与家人生活在一起的儿童除了遭受与灾难相关的压力外，还报告目睹或经历了人际暴力、忽视和虐待。在解决海地受灾难影响儿童面临的问题之前，必须先解决导致众多公民社会经济贫困的系统性问题。重要的一步是政策制定者与心理健康服务提供者合作，制定低成本且易于获取的社区干预措施。这些干预措施必须考虑并纳入海地的社会背景以及寻求帮助和利用治疗的文化模式。
