ABSTRACT
A growing body of literature has documented that major natural and technological disasters result in significant acute and long-term psychological distress for children and adolescents. Findings regarding children's psychological morbidity after disasters indicate that school-age children are at risk for more severe and prolonged posttraumatic reactions. C. Salter reported on an incident in which several young children in Brazil ingested discarded radioactive medical materials. Mothers of children under eighteen were also found to be at long-term risk for a range of psychological disorders. In unprecedented fashion, weapons of mass destruction place significant numbers of children at enormous risk for psychosocial morbidity for an extended period. Worries about children will likely be experienced by families, first responders, and health care providers. Large-scale death and injury of children would portend serious psychological trauma for the nation. Large numbers of children and families with perceived risk will seek medical treatment, potentially overwhelming the health and mental health care systems.
