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

Annie W. Spell, Louisiana State University, Lafayette, LA70508, USA. aspell@bellsouth.net
Mary Lou Kelley
Jing Wang
Shannon Self-Brown
Karen L. Davidson
Angie Pellegrin
Jeannette L. Palcic
Kara Meyer

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.