Yoram Mouchenik

Prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression in two groups of children one year after the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti

BACKGROUND More than 500 studies were conducted in Haiti following the January 12 of 2010 earthquake, yet few of them assessed mental health of the population. To our knowledge, none targeted the effectiveness of various methods used to treat survivors, whether adults or children METHOD Our study aimed to assess one year after the disaster, the effect of a specific psycho-social support offered to relocated children in Port-au-Prince compared with a control group. RESULTS The two groups were homogeneous in the intensity of the peritraumatic distress they experienced. We were unable to show a significant difference between both in the average scores for PTSD, nor for depression, nor in three out of the four sub-scales of the Child Behavior Check-List. In case children, 68% and 40.9%, respectively, and 50% and 20.5% of the control group, reported severe levels of the symptoms of PTSD and depression. These surprising results can be explained by the absence of equivalence in the two groups from a socio-demographic point of view and because subjects were not randomly selected in the recruitment process. CONCLUSION This study has not made it possible to indicate the effectiveness of a specific psycho-social support offered to children in the aftermath of the disaster. On the other hand, the sample illustrates the high prevalence (more than 50% for PTSD) of severe post-traumatic stress in this group of school-age children, one year after the earthquake. These results indicate that serious attention should be paid to the mental health aspects in reconstruction program for the country.

Religious Beliefs, PTSD, Depression and Resilience in Survivors of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake

BACKGROUND This study examines relationships between religious beliefs regarding the origin of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and posttraumatic symptomatology as well as depressive symptoms and resilience among its survivors. METHOD We used convenient sampling to recruit participants (n=167). They completed six scales, which had been translated into Haitian Creole, including measures such as the Earthquake Experiences Exposure (EEE), the Peritraumatic Distress Inventory (PDI), the Peritraumatic Dissociative Experience Questionnaire (PDEQ), the PTSD Checklist (PTSD-CL), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD- RISC) RESULTS: Among our participants, 51% were male, (mean age=30.5, SD=11.03), 92% (n=155) were believers in some sort of supernatural force and 65% (n=108) endorsed the earthquake as a natural phenomenon. There was significant difference in average scores at peritraumatic distress, PTSD symptoms and Resilience measures between those perceiving a divine origin and/or a punishment through the event and those who did not. Peritraumatic responses were best predictors for PTSD (β=.366, p<.001) and Depression symptoms (β=.384, p<.001). Voodoo adherents appeared to be vulnerable to depression, but reported superior resilience factors.

Prevalence of Autistic Behaviors in Offspring of Haitian Mothers Twee Years after a Devastating Earthquake

Objective: The goal of this study was to examine, prospectively the prevalence of autistic behaviors in a cohort of young children who were exposed in utero to a devastating earthquake 3 years later. Method: Subjects were 364 (50.8% boys) children 39 months old (3.3 years) who were in utero during the 2010 Haiti earthquake that resulted in a death toll of approximately 222,000. In August 2013, mothers completed several questionnaires including those about autistics behaviors and emotional problems in children (Echelle d’Evaluation des Comportements Autistiques Revisee -ECAR or Autistic Behaviors Scale Revised and the Child Behavior Check-List 1 ½-5). Results: Eight (2.2%) out of 364 children surveyed met criteria for intense autistics behaviors, 4 came from the epicenter and 4 were exposed as a foetus at the 3rd trimester, a large part of their mothers (7) needed psychological support, and 5 of those mothers experienced the death of family member following the disaster. Conclusions: the prevalence of autistic behaviors found in a cohort of 3 years old children exposed to the disaster is high compared to other estimates worldwide. The results of this first study to investigate prevalence of autism in a cohort of exposed children prior to birth to earthquake in Haiti underlines the need for further and larger epidemiological research with culturally sensitive tools for the evaluation of young subjects exposed directly or indirectly to traumatic events in Haiti.

Resilience in Haiti: is it culturally pathological?

Not for the first time in recent history, the people of Haiti have been obliged to fall back on their resilience strategies in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. Following the powerful earthquake that struck the country on 12 January 2010, the entire population had to find the resources to survive in the face of extensive material damage and loss of life: over 222 000 dead, more than 300 000 injured and between 4000 and 7000 amputees (UNDP, 2010).

The Jewish Children Hidden in France During the Second World War: A Retrospective Study

This retrospective study focused on the consequences of childhood traumas and mourning among Jewish children who were hidden in France during World War II. Some of these hidden children went on to create a self-help group over a half-century after the end of the war, but most have remained isolated and, in the majority of cases, have difficulties assimilating their traumatic experiences.