Eruption study may help youth in the future

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 673, 11 February 1997, Page 16

Eruption study may help youth in the future

A programme used by two Massey University academics to help children cope with the Ruapehu eruptions of 1995-96 may become a valuable resource in future natural disasters. Clinical psychologist and Massey University lecturer Kevin Ronan said that while two-thirds of Waimarino and Waiouru children were apparently not distressed, some clearly were. Some children had prominent symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) within a month of the first eruption in September 1995. He said that in a natural disaster authorities quickly attempted to solve problems such as infrastructure, but

people' s fears and coping strategies could be neglected. "Early intervention by experts helps provide a buffer to later stress and helps people cope more effectively," he said. Dr Ronan assessed about 200 primary school children in Waiouru, Raetihi and Ohakune one month, three months and seven months after the September-Octo-ber 1995 Ruapehu eruptions. "At one month two-thirds of the kids found the eruptions most exciting. The other third showed some upset and in some instances were very distressed. Significant di stress included features of post-traumatic

stress disorder," he said. Dr Ronan developed a programme which he ran in schools to help children understand and cope with the eruptions. David Johnston, a Massey PhD student who works at the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, worked with Dr Ronan on the programme for children. Mr Johnston' s PhD in soil science is on the physical and social effects of the Ruapehu eruptions. "David and I did a programme for the kids which included a video and ex-pert-based factual information on volcanoes," he said. "The video focused on the eruption, narrated by David at a level understood

by children." "We also addressed a number of issues including general physical safety and childhood misperception about the eruptions. "For example, some children thought the water might be poisonous, so David explained it was nothing life-threatening. "This information helped the children who said they were distressed and also those who had elevated fears," he said. Factual information on the eruptions as well as suggestions on how to cope with distressing thoughts appeared to help these children feel more safe. This was reflected in questionnaires showing PTSD symptoms and coping effectiveness, he says. "So our conclusion i s that both time and early intervention combines to prevent high trauma. We also feel the combination of ex-pert-based information

combined with coping strategies is more effective than presenting either alone," he said. Dr Ronan believed the programme would have equipped these children with skills to prevent or deal with any distress related to eruptions this winter. Mr Johnston and Dr Ronan recently presented a paper at the Pan Pacific Hazards Conference in Canada on their work. The Conference was for people interested in the physical and social effects of natural disasters. "The majority of the papers were on physical problems for example, infrastructure, communication and water supply," Dr Ronan said. "There was not as much research on the social problems." Their presentation and programme was well received with particuiar interest from participants

from Kobe, Japan - where a major earthquake hit in 1995. Dr Ronan said there had been an increasing interest in the social aspects of disasters. They are writing up their findings for a scholarly journal and are also supplying

for funding to further develop their programme for children. Materials based on their research are available for use in other disasters around the world.