The moderating effects of maternal psychopathology on children's adjustment post-Hurricane Katrina

J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2008 Jul;37(3):553-63. doi: 10.1080/15374410802148210.

Abstract

This study investigated the role of maternal psychopathology in predicting children's psychological distress in a disaster-exposed sample. Participants consisted of 260 children (ages 8-16) recruited from public schools and their mothers. These families were displaced from New Orleans because of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Assessment took place 3 to 7 months postdisaster. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that global maternal psychological distress and maternal posttraumatic stress disorder moderated the relation between child hurricane exposure and mother-reported child internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adaptation, Psychological*
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Child
  • Child Behavior Disorders / diagnosis
  • Child Behavior Disorders / psychology
  • Disasters*
  • Fear
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Internal-External Control*
  • Louisiana
  • Male
  • Mothers / psychology*
  • Psychopathology
  • Risk Factors
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / diagnosis
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / psychology*
  • Wounds and Injuries / psychology