Abstract
BackgroundThe terrorist attack at Westminster Bridge on March 22nd, 2017 impacted on French high school students on a school trip in London. This terrorist attack was claimed by the Islamic State. The aim of the study was to assess the mental health consequences of the attack on the French adolescents who were directly exposed (criteria A for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD). This involved three dimensions, namely: (1) clinical; (2) epidemiological; and (3) prevention and therapeutic.Material and MethodThe investigation was the first observational step of AVAL (Adolescents Victimes de l'Attentat de Londres) study, a cohort monitoring project and it was then a monocentric, cross sectional, non interventional survey, at only one-year post-trauma. The study was carried out utilizing self- and clinician-administered questionnaires. Volunteers from the medico-psychological emergency unit provided support for these victims during the study protocol.ResultsFrom the target population (n = 53), 39 adolescents (73.6%) agreed to participate, with a median age 16.9 years. 12 months after the attack, 25.6% of teenagers suffered from current PTSD (p < 0.0001). Those with, vs. without, PTSD showed several significant differences: (1) heightened levels of major depressive episodes (p = 0.0266) and suicidality (p = 0.0164); (2) increased substance use, including tobacco (p = 0.0284) and cannabis (p = 0.0449); and (3) impaired functioning in school (p = 0.0203), social (p < 0.0001) and family (p < 0.0001) settings. Sixty four percentage of directly exposed teenagers also had a current psychiatric disorder other than PTSD.DiscussionThe heightened levels of PTSD, psychiatric disorders, and substance use at 12 months highlight the importance of early intervention in adolescents exposed to terrorist-linked potentially traumatic events.
Highlights
The terrorist attack at Westminster Bridge on March 22nd, 2017 impacted on French high school students on a school trip in London
The heightened levels of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), psychiatric disorders, and substance use at 12 months highlight the importance of early intervention in adolescents exposed to terrorist-linked potentially traumatic events
The March 2017 terrorist attack resulted in 6 fatalities, with 50 being injured, including 3 French high school students who were part of a larger party on a school trip
Summary
The terrorist attack at Westminster Bridge on March 22nd, 2017 impacted on French high school students on a school trip in London. The aim of the study was to assess the mental health consequences of the attack on the French adolescents who were directly exposed (criteria A for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD). The March 2017 terrorist attack resulted in 6 fatalities (including the attacker), with 50 being injured, including 3 French high school students who were part of a larger party on a school trip These French teenagers were present on Westminster Bridge, when the terrorist’s car sped along the bridge and pavement, hitting pedestrians indiscriminately. The medico-psychological emergency unit was deployed to their school in order to provide psychosocial support for the children and their families This attack had a large media coverage in the UK, but the French victim’s high school protected them from media exposure
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