Terror leaves adolescents behind: Identifying risk and protective factors for high ‐school completion among survivors of terrorism

This study examined whether exposure to the 2011 Utøya terrorist attack in Norway impacted survivors’ ability to complete high school. Further, it aimed to identify important peri- and posttraumatic risk and protective factors. Interview data from the Utø ya study, collected 4–5 months postterror, were linked to individual educational registry data for 265 survivors. Chi-square tests and ordinal logistic regression analyses were used to examine (a) high school completion among younger survivors (n = 185, age range: 13 –18 years, 52.4% female) compared to both older survivors (i.e., who had the possibility of completing high school before the terror attacks;n = 80, age range: 19 –21 years, 40.0% female) and the national average and (b) associations between high school completion and physical injury, posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), somatic symptoms, and social support among younger survivors. Younger survivors were significantly less likely to complete high school on time. Among younger adolescents, physical injury, aOR = 0.36,  95% CI [0.16, 0.81]; higher-level PTSS, aOR = 0.54, 95% CI [0.33, 0.88]; and somatic symptoms, aOR = 0.51, 95% CI [0.29, 0.91],  lowered the likelihood of on-time completion. Terror exposure in adolescence adversely affects long-term educational functioning in young survivors, which can severely hamper their future prospects. These findings reinforce the need for trauma-sensitive teaching and educator-provided support for a dolescents ...
Source: Journal of Traumatic Stress - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research