Group Protocol to Mitigate Disaster Stress and Enhance Social Support in Adolescents Exposed to Hurricane Hugo

Abstract

Literature reports that cognitive understanding and social support can mitigate stress in both adults and adolescents. As a subcomponent of the Carolina Adolescent Health Project (CAHP), this research evaluated the efficacy of a Cognitive Social Support (CSS) group protocol designed to mitigate the disaster stress of adolescents who had been exposed seriously to Hurricane Hugo. A purposive sample of 259 students participated in and evaluated the CSS. This article reports the specific structure, content, process, rationale, and cost of the CSS. Evaluations indicated that 82 % of the students evaluated the small-group component of the CSS as “very good” or “excellent,” while 70% rated the large-group component as “very good” or “excellent.”