Post-traumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents of the Armenian earthquake

The impact of the Armenian earthquake of 1988 on children and adolescents screened through the National Mental Health Research Center in Spitak, Armenia, is discussed. The earthquake caused close to 20,000 deaths, almost two-thirds of which were children and adolescents. Clinical data which address advances in understanding the diagnostic indicators and resulting psychopathology in victims of the Armenian earthquake are presented. Current theory about the processing of trauma in children and adolescents is reviewed, with recommendations for future research in this area.