The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #66756

G. Musa¹, C. W. Hoven, DrPH¹, C. S. Duarte, PhD¹, P. W. Wu, PhD¹, E. Erickson, MA¹, B. Fan, MD¹, V. Balaban, PhD², A. Jeng¹, and C. Sherpa¹. (1) Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 43, New York, NY 10032, 212-543-5598, musag@childpsych.columbia.edu, (2) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd., Atlanta, GA 30333

Background: Although being close to a traumatic event has been documented as related to posttraumatic symptomatology in children (Pynoos et al., 1987), physical distance from the traumatic event is usually not measured in detail or considered in the presence of other factors. Objective: To evaluate the effect of distance on child PTSD after the WTC attacks in fine gradations. Participants: Representative sample of 8,236 NYC public school students in grades 4 –12. Results: Participating schools were geocoded and their distance to Ground Zero calculated. Students who were not at school during the attacks (10.7%) were excluded from the analysis. The effect of distance from Ground Zero on child PTSD was evaluated in logistic regression models controlling for socioeconomic and other exposure variables, including school distance from the Belle Harbor area, site of a plane crash two months after the WTC attack. In order to examine the homogeneity of the effect of distance in PTSD risk, results from the analysis were compared where distance was treated first as a continuous and then as a categorical variable. Discussion: Preliminary analyses based on sampling parameters had indicated that rates of probable PTSD among students from schools located at Ground Zero versus those located throughout the rest of the city were quite similar (Hoven et al. 2002). Refining this analysis, assessing distance from Ground Zero in detail, is an important step, which can help improving understanding as well as mental health response systems for children.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Understand the influence of distance from a traumatic situation on PTSD symptoms in children.
• 2. Address methodological problems related to measurement of distance from the source of a traumatic event.

Keywords: Child/Adolescent Mental Health,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.