Maternal Correlates of Children's Stress Functioning Following a Major Natural Disaster

Abstract

Concordant assessments of psychological functioning, salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), and cortisol activity were taken for children (n = 28, 6–10 yrs) and their mothers two months after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina and living in a relocation camp. Multilevel regression models revealed that the psychological functioning of the displaced children did not differ from that of demographically matched controls (n = 19 children), but the displaced group had higher sAA activity and lower cortisol levels. Compared to control mothers, displaced mothers showed higher sAA activity; greater symptoms of depression, distress, and anxiety; and lower self-esteem. Maternal psychological functioning was related to children's endocrine activity. The results suggest that pervasive stress exposure may be associated with unique psychobiological distress regulation for mother–child dyads.

Keywords:

• natural disasters
• stress functioning
• family relations
• cortisol
• depression