Psychological Aspects of Disaster

Human beings have always experienced disasters. A disaster may be brief, but its psychological effects may last for many years. These psychological effects are increasingly well documented. Disasters affect not only those immediately involved, but also those who know the victims. This is perhaps particularly so when the victims are children. Commonly when adults hear news of disasters they ask first: What about the children? Of course, typically it is worse for the parents. In this article the definition and classification of disaster and the effects of disaster on survivors and their relatives will be discussed.