Children's well-being 11 years after the Chornobyl catastrophe

Background: The psychological effects of technological disasters have rarel y been studied in children. This study assessed the aftermath of the 1986 C hornobyl disaster in children evacuated to Kyiv from the contaminated zone surrounding the nuclear power facility. Methods: In 1997, we evaluated three hundred 10- to 12-year-old children in Kyiv who were in utero or infants at the time of the disaster and who had resided near Chornobyl (evacuees) and 300 sex-matched homeroom classmates w ho had never lived in a radiation-contaminated area. Response rates were 92 % (evacuees) and 85% (classmates). Data were obtained from children, mother s, and teachers using standard measures of well-being and risk factors for childhood psychopathology. The children also received physical examinations and basic blood tests. Results: The evacuees and classmates perceived their mental health similarl y except for Chornobyl-related anxiety symptoms and perceived scholastic co mpetence. No differences were found on the Iowa Conners' Teacher Rating Sca le. Although the physical examination and blood test results were normal, t he evacuee mothers rated their children's well-being as significantly worse , especially with respect to somatic symptoms on the Children's Somatizatio n Inventory and Child Behavior Checklist. The most important risk factors f or these ratings were maternal somatization and Chornobyl-related stress. Conclusions: Given the multiple stressful experiences to which evacuee fami lies were exposed, the small differences in the children's self-reports sug gest that there are protective factors in the lives of these children. The trauma experienced by the mothers was reflected in their perceptions of the ir children's well-being particularly somatic symptoms, but was not transmi tted to the children themselves.