Citation

Pfefferbaum B, Gurwitch RH, McDonald NB, Leftwich MJ, Sconzo GM, Messenbaugh AK, Schultz RA. Psychiatr. Serv. 2000; 51(3): 386-388.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City 73190-3048, USA. betty-pfefferbaum@ouhsc.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10686250

Abstract

The effects of traumatic loss on children who reported a friend or acquaintance killed in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing of a federal office building were examined. Twenty-seven children who lost a friend or acquaintance and 27 demographically matched controls were assessed eight to ten months after the bombing. All but three of the children continued to experience posttraumatic stress symptoms. Those who lost a friend watched significantly more bombing-related television coverage than those without losses. Those who lost a friend had significantly more posttraumatic stress symptoms at the time of the assessment than those who lost an acquaintance. Parents and those working with children should be alert to the impact of loss even when it involves nonrelatives.

Language: en