About 11 percent of children who attended the 2013 Boston Marathon have reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder-a similar finding to New York city schoolchildren six months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to a new study by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
In the study, published Monday in the Journal of Pediatrics, researchers surveyed 460 parents of children ages 4 to 19 who lived within 25 miles of the Marathon or Watertown, the focal point of the massive manhunt days after the bombings. The study found that the proportion of children with PTSD was almost six times higher among those who attended the marathon than those who did not attend the event.
'In the aftermath of terrorism, particularly acts targeting children and families, these findings underscore the urgency of connecting affected youth with mental health care,' the researchers wrote.
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