A pilot study of a brief and scalable psychosocial intervention for children and adolescents following disasters

• Published in: British journal of clinical psychology 2024-06
• Main Authors: Strauven, Sarah, Dennison, Meg J, O'Donnell, Meaghan L, Cowlishaw, Sean, Gibson, Kari, Pedder, David J, Baur, Jenelle, Nursey, Jane, Cobham, Vanessa E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0144-6657
• DOI: 10.1111/bjc.12484

Following disaster exposure, a significant proportion of children/adolescents will develop levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) that do not meet diagnostic threshold for PTSD, but which cause ongoing distress. This paper describes the development and pilot testing of a brief, scalable, psychosocial intervention. SOLAR-Kids/Teens has been designed to be delivered by non-mental health professionals ('coaches') to children/adolescents experiencing moderate levels of PTSS following disasters. An international collaboration of experts developed The Skills fOr Life Adjustment and Resilience (SOLAR) for Kids and Teens programs. The programs were piloted-using a pre-post mixed methods design-with 10 children and adolescents (8-18 years), with the aims of examining the feasibility of the program's delivery model as well as the program's potential usefulness. The pilot data indicated that after 1 day of training and with ongoing supervision, the SOLAR program was safe and feasible for coaches to deliver to children/adolescents experiencing PTSS. Coaches reported increased knowledge (p = .001), confidence (p = .001) and skills (p = .006). The programs were acceptable to coaches, children/adolescents and parents. Parents and children/adolescents reported reductions in trauma and anxiety symptoms from pre- to post-treatment, with moderate to large effect sizes. The preliminary findings demonstrate that the SOLAR-Kids/Teens program is feasible, acceptable and safe to be delivered by trained non-mental health professionals to children and adolescents experiencing PTSS and anxiety following disaster exposure. Randomized controlled trials are required to evaluate the efficacy of the SOLAR-Kids/Teens programs.