The Relationship between Sustained Attention and PTSD Symptoms in Chinese Earthquake Orphans - Open Access Library Journal

OALibJ > Vol.4 No.7, July 2017

The Relationship between Sustained Attention and PTSD Symptoms in Chinese Earthquake Orphans ()

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DOI: 10.4236/oalib.1103729 569 Downloads 1,642 Views Citations

Author(s)

Yan Wang², Xingli Zhang^1*, Jiannong Shi^1*

Affiliation(s)

¹Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China.
¹Ming Zheng Judicial Expertise Center, Jilin, China.
²Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China.

ABSTRACT

The authors examined sustained attention performance and PTSD symptoms in a sample of 281 orphans and non-orphans who experienced the Sichuan Earthquake in China. They hypothesized that the orphans had a higher possibility to risk for PTSD than non-orphans, and the former also might even tend to be more impulsive, allergic which might affect their basic cognitive skill-attention. The findings showed evidence of cognitive developmental stages, from vigilance to numbness and avoidance, in the continuous performance test (CPT) task by including pre-earthquake orphans. The post-earthquake orphans were still in a high level of vigilance and performed well in the CPT task when compared with the pre-earthquake orphans. The non-orphans with high possibility to risk for PTSD were the most concentrated and least impulsive. Given the potentially mutual relationship between sustained attention and posttraumatic stress disorder, careful consideration must be given to the treatment of traumatized children who present with PTSD symptoms. In accordance with practice guidelines, a duplex informant, duplex measure approach in the decision of educational plans for these children is strongly recommended.

KEYWORDS

Pre-Earthquake Orphans, Post-Earthquake Orphans, Sustained Attention, PTSD Symptoms

Share and Cite:

Wang, Y. , Zhang, X. and Shi, J. (2017) The Relationship between Sustained Attention and PTSD Symptoms in Chinese Earthquake Orphans. Open Access Library Journal, 4, 1-14. doi: 10.4236/oalib.1103729.

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