Twenty-three children involved in a school-bus kidnapping were studied
from 5 to 13 months following the event. Each child suffered posttraumatic
emotional sequelae. The author found that the children suffered from
initial misperceptions, early fears of further trauma, hallucinations, and
"omen" formation. Later they experienced posttraumatic symptoms consisting
of posttraumatic play, reenactment, personality change, repeated dreams
(including predictive dreams and those in which they died), fears of being
kidnapped again, and "fear of the mundane." Differences between child and
adult response to psychic trauma are discussed.Abstract Teaser