Poster #13 - Interrelations Among Social Support, Coping, PTSD Symptoms, and Academic Achievement in Youth Exposed to Natural Disaster Stress

• In Event: Poster Session 04

Abstract

Extreme weather events such as hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes have the potential to cause severe damage to physical environments of families and children, but also leave lasting effects on mental health. Previous literature has identified that children are vulnerable to these events (Wang et al, 2013; Lock et al, 2012; Powell et al., 2021). Children’s reactions to such events include both internalized and externalized emotions and behaviors including depression, anxiety, aggression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Powell et al., 2021; Scott et al., 2014; Danzi & La Greca, 2021). Additionally, natural disasters that induce stress and PTSD symptoms also impact life functioning, including academic achievement (Weems et al., 2013). However, perceived social support, along with coping mechanisms and skills, are believed to be protective factors for children with PTSD. These protective factors are hypothesized to buffer the effects of stressors that develop from stressful situations (Cohen & Wills, 1985), such as natural disasters. Although findings regarding this hypothesis are mixed in child and youth samples who have experienced disasters (Lai et al., 2018; McGuire et al., 2018; Paul et al., 2015), there may be interactive effects with perceived social support and coping together or separately (Terranova et al., 2009).

In this poster we will report analyses from a sample of school children (N = 191, 54.1% male), ranging from 8 to 15 years old (M = 11.46, SD = 1.60) who attended school in a neighborhood that was severely damaged and almost completely flooded by Hurricane Katrina. Youth in the sample predominantly identified as African American (97.3%). The scales used for this study include the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index (UCLA-PTSD RI; Frederick et al., 1992; La Greca et al., 1996; Weems et al., 2012), a Survey of Children’s Social Support (from Dubow & Ullman, 1989; Banks & Weems, 2014) and a Coping Strategies Checklist (CCSC; developed from Sandler et al., 1994; Weems & Graham, 2014). A latent variable was created to measure standardized test scores in four academic areas: language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science. Some common disaster-related events that participants reported included clothes or toys ruined (78.9%), thought someone might die (77.8%), home damaged or badly destroyed (65.8%), saw someone get badly hurt (44%), and pet hurt or died (41.1%).

Analyses will address the following questions: How does perceived social support moderate the relationship between PTSD/disaster experience and academic achievement? How does active coping moderate the relationship between PSTD/disaster experience and academic achievement? The current study utilizes a latent moderated structural (LMS) equations method (Maslowsky et al., 2015) to examine three models. Model 1 will test how perceived social support may moderate the relationship between PTSD and academic achievement. Model 2 will test how coping skills may moderate the relationship between PTSD and academic achievement. In addition, Model 3 will test how coping skills interact with PTSD and perceived social support to moderate academic achievement.

Authors

• Mikaela Scozzafava, Iowa State University
  Presenting Author

• Carl Weems, Iowa State University

• Bethany McCurdy, Iowa State University