The risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children and adolescents following mass violence incidents, such as terrorist attacks, remain incompletely understood. In the aftermath of the 14 July 2016, terrorist attack in Nice, France, a dedicated paediatric consultation centre was established at the Children’s University Hospital, the Nice Pediatric Psychotrauma Center (NPPC).

This 2-year longitudinal study aims to identify and understand the influence of pre-trauma, trauma-related and post-trauma risk factors associated with the development of PTSD in children and adolescents following the 2016 terrorist attack in Nice.

Participants under 18 years of age at the time of the attack were recruited from the NPPC over 2 years, between 21 November 2017 and 22 November 2019. Assessments included semi-structured diagnostic interviews with children and/or parents, standardised clinical questionnaires for both parents and children and cognitive tests exclusively for children.

Two hundred and seventy-one children (mean age 8.10 years; 48.7% female) directly impacted by the terrorist attack, were assessed. Pre-traumatic factors (age, gender assigned at birth and cognitive functioning) failed to predict PTSD. Two trauma-related factors, subjective fear intensity and lifetime number of traumatic events emerged as significant predictors. Concerning post-trauma factors, maternal symptoms (anxiety, depression and PTSD), child somatic symptoms and comorbid DSM-5 diagnoses played a crucial role in child PTSD. The final regression model demonstrated an 84% accuracy in predicting PTSD in children and adolescents (χ2[3] = 2.4, P < 0.001).

These findings highlight the importance of assessing specific risk factors for PTSD in children and adolescents to deliver specialised and targeted care to young people and their parents following a terrorist attack.

The DSM-5 recognized that the separation anxiety disorder (SEPAD) may span the entire life course or have an adult-onset. Epidemiological data indicated a 23%–69% prevalence of SEPAD in clinical settings and a high comorbidity with both prolonged grief disorder (PGD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Some authors hypothesize that while life threat represents the key trigger of PTSD, disruptions or threats to interpersonal bonds lead to PGD and SEPAD. This study aims to test the hypothesis that adult-onset SEPAD might be a trauma-related disorder, triggered by events threatening to interpersonal bonds.

The sample included 106 consecutive adult outpatients with anxiety and/or mood disorders. SEPAD was diagnosed according to DSM-5 criteria by means of the Structured Clinical Interview for Separation Anxiety Symptoms (SCI-SAS). The Adult Separation Anxiety Checklist (ASA-27) was used to assess symptoms severity. To assess exposure to trauma, the SCID-5 criterion A form for PTSD was administered. Traumatic events were coded as directly experienced (self) or involving close ones (others). Lifetime exposure to separation events was also assessed.

60.4% of participants were categorized as not having SEPAD in adulthood or in childhood (NO-SEPAD), 18.9% as childhood-onset SEPAD, and 20.8% as adult-onset SEPAD. Controlling for comorbid disorders, lifetime traumatic events involving self and separation events, traumatic events involving others significantly predicted adult-onset SEPAD. A significant correlation between the age at trauma exposure and the age of SEPAD onset was found.

Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that adult-onset SEPAD may represent an event-related disorder.