A gas explosion in Ghislenghien (Belgium, July 2004) instantly killed five
firefighters, one police officer and 18 civilians. Moreover, 132 people were
wounded and many of them suffered severe burn injuries.
This book aims at clarifying the impact of a technological disaster, both
phenomenologically and empirically. It also wishes to enhance the understanding
of the challenges for psychological help in the wake of technological disaster.
On the phenomenological side, the experiences of a disaster survivor are used to
set the stage for a discussion on the conceptual differences between mainstream
(Anglo-Saxon) trauma theories and the more classical (French) psychodynamic
theories. Three chapters provide contextual information on the trauma inflicted by
a massive explosion.
On the empirical side, the focus is on the prevalence of posttraumatic stress
symptoms in adult and child survivors of a massive gas explosion, in their family
members as well as in family members of deceased victims. Four chapters
provide a quantitative approach of trauma-related mental health disturbances in
adults and children after a technological disaster.
The results clearly indicate the influence of the degree of exposure, peritraumatic
dissociation and dissatisfaction with social support on the development of
posttraumatic stress symptoms. The risk for the development of four types
of mental health disturbances (somatization, depression, anxiety and sleeping
disturbances) was much higher in direct witnesses who have seen human
damage. The epilogue discusses possible future developments for early
psychophysiological stabilization of disaster victims.