Hurricane Katrina forced thousands of children in and around New Orleans to cope with life-altering circumstances. The Kidcope, a checklist designed to assess coping in pediatric populations, has been used to evaluate children after disasters. Research has demonstrated the importance of considering the role of cultural factors in the development and use of coping strategies. The authors examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Kidcope on the basis of the responses of hurricane-exposed, African American, predominantly low income youth in New Orleans and surrounding areas. The results yielded a one-factor scale for the adolescent version and three factors for the child version. Future directions for use of the Kidcope with African Americans are discussed.
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