Biological correlates of child and adolescent responses to disaster exposure: a bio-ecological model.

Exposure to both human-caused and natural disasters is associated with a number of postevent reactions in youth including the experience of symptoms of several mental disorders. There is wide variability in these responses, with some youth having very intense exposure to the disaster and yet showing resilience or even personal growth, while others with low exposure sometimes show intensely negative reactions. Research findings are reviewed in this article to identify biological correlates of risk and resilience focusing on potential genetic, neurobiological, and physiological factors linked to the reactions of children exposed to disasters. A bio-ecological model is presented to couch this review of biological correlates of disaster exposure. The model predicts susceptibility to negative reactions after disaster exposure, and the biological correlates of disaster reactions can be understood in terms of this susceptibility as it relates to biological markers of the fear system.