Supporting Adolescents Exposed to Disasters

Adolescents possess numerous strengths and vulnerabilities based on their unique stage of development. When youth experience a disaster, whether natural or human-caused, there are certain considerations to be taken into account when providing them with support. This article describes common adolescent reactions to the impact phase of disasters as well as short-term and long-term adaptation. Information about how best to prepare adolescents and their families for possible disasters is offered. Specific actions to support adolescents’ resilience are presented for each disaster stage from Psychological First Aid to empirically-supported treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Basic guidelines that can be helpful to parents and teachers are presented along with a discussion of anniversaries of the traumatic event. Also included are useful online resources and cautions about popular, yet unsupported, therapies.