Media coverage and children's reactions to disaster with implications for primary care and public health.

To address the potential for media coverage of traumatic events to generate fear reactions in children, we examined exposure and reactions to media coverage of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing in children attending a middle school 100 miles from the disaster site two and three years after the event. Many of the children studied recalled feeling "afraid," "sad," or "mad" in relation to initial media coverage. Overall exposure and reactions to bomb-related media coverage declined over the three years.

Media exposure in children one hundred miles from a terrorist bombing.

This study assessed indirect interpersonal exposure to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, broadcast and print media exposure in the aftermath of the explosion, emotional reactions to media coverage, and posttraumatic stress reactions in children distant from the explosion. A survey was administered to 88 sixth-grade students in the public middle school in a community 100 miles from Oklahoma City 2 years after the bombing. Many children reported indirect interpersonal exposure and most reported bomb-related media exposure.