Impact of exposure to community violence, Hurricane Katrina, and Hurricane Gustav on posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms among school age children

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between exposure to Hurricane Gustav and distress among 122 children (ages 7–12) to determine whether that relationship was moderated by prior experiences with Hurricane Katrina and exposure to community violence (ECV). Measures of hurricane experiences, ECV, posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, and depression were administered. Assessments occurred after the third anniversary of Katrina, which coincided with the landfall of Gustav. Results indicated that the relation between exposure to Gustav and PTS was moderated by prior experiences. There was a positive association between Gustav exposure and PTS for children who experienced high Katrina exposure and low ECV, with a similar trend for children with high ECV and low Katrina exposure. There was no relationship between Gustav exposure and PTS for children with low Katrina and low ECV or for children with high Katrina and high ECV. The relationship between exposure to Gustav and depression was not moderated by children's prior experience. However, there was a relationship between Katrina exposure and depression for children with high ECV. Results suggest that prior trauma may amplify the relationship between hurricane exposure and distress, but children with high cumulative trauma may remain highly symptomatic regardless of disaster exposure.

Keywords:

• disasters
• community violence
• posttraumatic stress
• cumulative trauma
• children
• anniversaries

Acknowledgements

This study was supported in part by the Institute of Mental Hygiene [New Orleans, LA], Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation and the University of South Florida Internal Awards Program under Grant No. R061796. The authors would like to thank Anita Francois, LCSW, Project Director, Children's Bureau of New Orleans and the clinical staff for their work in coordinating this project and for conducting all of the assessments. Data in this article were presented in part at the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies, Annual Conference: Atlanta, GA. Poster Presentation (Salloum, A., Burch, B., & Overstreet, S., 2009, November 6).