A Social Work Perspective of Childhood Trauma after a Residential Fire

The study described in this article was guided by the person-in-environment paradigm and a model for processing catastrophic events. The purpose was to describe the posttraumatic stress, impact of the fire event, and behavioral responses of 56 schoolchildren ages six to 17 after a fire in their homes and changes they experienced over two time periods. More than half the sample were inner-city African American children from single-parent, low-income families. Posttraumatic stress scores, impact of event scores, and problem behaviors decreased significantly from time 1 to time 2. However, at time 2, 32 percent of the children continued to have moderate to high stress levels. Somatic complaints were higher. Mothers were the primary source of social support; however, the study found low family expression as usually seen in families in distress. Because distressed parents may not be available for support, an intervention such as short-term debriefing in the schools is suggested.