The Impact of Child-Related Stressors on the Psychological Functioning of Lower-Income Mothers After Hurricane Katrina

Abstract

In the present study, the authors examined the role of child-related stressors in the psychological adjustment of lower-income, primarily unmarried and African American, mothers (N = 386). All participants lived in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, and about a third were also exposed to Hurricane Rita (30.3%, n = 117). Lacking knowledge of a child’s safety during the hurricanes was a significant predictor of heightened postdisaster psychological distress and posttraumatic stress, even after controlling for demographic variables, predisaster psychological distress, evacuation timing, and bereavement. From interviews with a subset of the participants (n = 57), we found that mothers consistently put their own needs behind those of their children. The authors recommend policies that promptly reunite mothers with missing children and support lower-income mothers in caring for their children during natural disasters and the aftermath.