Terrorist acts usually have an influential effect on children as well as their families. This is partly attributable to the increase of media coverage of terrorist activity in the past few years. As this media exposure increases, children are exposed to more and more disturbing images. Children are often left vulnerable to these atrocious acts, and when tragedy engulfs a family, a child may lose his sense of safety. This can lead to development of posttraumatic stress disorder, which includes symptoms such as severe fear, agitation, unusual behavior, anxiety, or depression. Children of parents in the military, or children living in violent neighborhoods may fall victim to PTSD.

In another light, the children who are victims of terrorist activity or who have been directly affected by it are often overlooked. The escalated violence of terrorism results in a plethora of negative effects including loss of family, deficiency in education, and changes in community structures and values. Each child is affected to some extent by this violence and, based on their cognitive development, they will usually develop some sort of traumatic stress disorder.