Positive cognitive appraisal "buffers" the long-term effect of peritraumatic distress on maternal anxiety: The Queensland Flood Study

BACKGROUND

Limited research has evaluated distinct aspects of disaster experience as predictors of affective symptoms. In this study, we examined the extent to which maternal depression and anxiety over time were predicted by (1) objective hardship from a flood during pregnancy, (2) peritraumatic distress and (3) cognitive appraisal of the flood's consequences.

METHODS

Data were drawn from the 2011 Queensland Flood Study, a prospective, longitudinal study of pregnancy (n = 183). Mothers' disaster experience was measured within 1 year after the flood. Their levels of depression, anxiety and stress were measured at 16 months, 30 months, 4 years and 6 years after childbirth. Linear mixed models were employed to evaluate symptom trajectories.

RESULTS

There were no time-dependent effects of disaster-related variables. Objective hardship did not predict outcomes. Peritraumatic distress significantly predicted depression and anxiety symptoms when cognitive appraisal was negative. Conversely, when cognitive appraisal was neutral or positive, the effect of peritraumatic distress was "buffered". For anxiety, but not depression, this interaction survived Bonferroni correction. Neutral/positive cognitive appraisal similarly moderated the effect of peritraumatic dissociation.

LIMITATIONS

The generalizability of our findings is limited by overall low levels of depression and anxiety, along with a predominantly Caucasian, higher socioeconomic status sample. Potential confounders such as pre-disaster anxiety were not controlled for.

CONCLUSION

In line with previous evidence, this study supports the predictive validity of peritraumatic distress for post-disaster depression and anxiety. Our findings suggest that cognitive appraisal could be a relevant target for interventions aimed at fostering maternal resilience.

Post-Disaster Mental Health Among Parent-Child Dyads After a Major Earthquake in Indonesia

The interdependent adjustment of children and their parents following disasters has been well documented. We used the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) to provide an appropriate analytical framework for examining how family members may contribute to each other's post-disaster mental health. Independent self-reports were collected from parent-child dyads (n = 397) residing in a rural community in Indonesia that was devastated by a major earthquake. Elementary school children (M = 10 years; 51 % female) and one of their parents (M = 41 years; 73 % female) each reported on their disaster exposure, posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, and general distress. The APIM was used to examine mental health within dyads and moderation by gender across dyads. Children reported lower disaster exposure and fewer PTS symptoms, but similar general distress levels, as their parents. Children's and parents' disaster-specific PTS symptoms were the strongest predictor of their own general distress. Parents' PTS symptoms were associated with children's general distress (b = 0.14, p < 0.001), but children's PTS symptoms were not associated with parents' general distress (b = -0.02, p > 0.05). Findings were not moderated by parents' or children's gender. Although children and parents may respond differently to natural disasters, they may be best understood as a dyad. APIM analyses provide new evidence suggesting a unidirectional path of influence from parents' disaster-related symptomatology to children's general mental health. Dyadic approaches to understanding mental health and treating symptoms of distress among disaster survivors and their families following trauma are encouraged.

The Role of Parents, Parenting and the Family Environment in Children's Post-Disaster Mental Health

There is widespread support for the hypothesis that, post-disaster, children's mental health is impacted--at least in part--via the impact on parents, parenting, parent-child interactions, and the family environment. To some degree, the enthusiasm with which this hypothesis is held outstrips the evidence examining it. The current paper critically evaluates the empirical evidence for this hypothesis and concludes that although limited (both in terms of number of existing studies and methodological flaws), the extant literature indicates some parent-related variables, as well as some aspects of the family environment are likely to constitute risk or protective factors for children. Given that parenting is modifiable, it is proposed that the identified parent- and family-related factors represent important therapeutic targets, and a universal post-disaster parenting intervention (Disaster Recovery Triple P) is described.

Research Methods in Child Disaster Studies: A Review of Studies Generated by the September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks; the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami; and Hurricane Katrina

BACKGROUND

A comprehensive review of the design principles and methodological approaches that have been used to make inferences from the research on disasters in children is needed.

OBJECTIVE

To identify the methodological approaches used to study children's reactions to three recent major disasters-the September 11, 2001, attacks; the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami; and Hurricane Katrina.

METHODS

This review was guided by a systematic literature search.

RESULTS

A total of 165 unduplicated empirical reports were generated by the search and examined for this review. This included 83 references on September 11, 29 on the 2004 Tsunami, and 53 on Hurricane Katrina.

CONCLUSIONS

A diversity of methods has been brought to bear in understanding children's reactions to disasters. While cross-sectional studies predominate, pre-event data for some investigations emerged from archival data and data from studies examining non-disaster topics. The nature and extent of the influence of risk and protective variables beyond disaster exposure are not fully understood due, in part, to limitations in the study designs used in the extant research. Advancing an understanding of the roles of exposure and various individual, family, and social factors depends upon the extent to which measures and assessment techniques are valid and reliable, as well as on data sources and data collection designs. Comprehensive assessments that extend beyond questionnaires and checklists to include interviews and cognitive and biological measures to elucidate the negative and positive effects of disasters on children also may improve the knowledge base.

Religious and Spiritual Responses to 9/11: Evidence from the Add Health Study*

Despite a great deal of public discourse concerning the effect of the September 11(th) attacks on Americans' religious and spiritual lives, social scientists know very little about the nature, size, and duration of this effect. Using panel data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study analyzes the influence of 9/11 on the religious and spiritual lives of American young adults. The results suggest that the 9/11 attacks exerted only modest and short-lived effects on various aspects of young adults' religiosity and spirituality, and these effects were variable across different groups. These findings suggest that no remarkable religious revival occurred among young adults after September 11(th), and researchers interested in analyzing religious development across the life course or religious change over time need not worry about sea changes in religiosity and spirituality brought on by 9/11.