Background: In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey disrupted the lives of millions in the Houston/Galveston gulf coast region, causing injury, loss, and major uncertainty of wellbeing. Natural disasters can influence parent mental health and parenting behaviors, though less is known about how these factors might be associated with parenting…

Hurricanes disrupt teachers' lives, causing teacher attrition, burnout, and emotional exhaustion to heighten post-disaster. Hurricanes are realistic factors associated with teachers leaving the educational profession, and concern for teachers' well-being continues to increase after a disaster. As teacher retention continues to decline among school…

This study examines the relationship between prior trauma and post disaster psychological distress in a sample of college students exposed to Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas in 2017. College students (n = 324) receive treatment for psychological problems at very low rates, so screening for the most vulnerable students after a disaster is…

The current study aimed to examine posttraumatic growth (PTG) after earthquake victimization. Variables that may be related to PTG were examined by using Model of Life Crises and Personal Growth (Schaefer & Moos, 1992). In order to examine PTG, the roles of demographic variables, event-related variables, environmental factors, system factors,…

Traumatic events are becoming more prevalent in youth, especially considering the increase in disaster exposure, impacting the wellbeing and mental health of youth. Youth in rural communities are more adversely impacted due to a lack of access to available support and services. Interventions geared toward treating traumatic stress are needed for…

Disasters are known as calamities affecting all humanity on earth and have adverse impacts on human life in various ways. Although many natural disasters cannot be prevented, their adverse effects on people can be mitigated. It is important to raise the awareness of people about disasters, whether they are caused by human effects or nature.…

Early adverse experiences can hold lasting influence on later life outcomes, particularly during formative developmental periods such as adolescence. The current study evaluates the impact of different kinds of adolescent trauma on later sense of purpose in adulthood, using data from the Hawaii Longitudinal Study of Personality and Health.…

How do natural disasters affect academic performance? Despite numerous studies having been conducted after the 2015 Nepal earthquake, the academic impacts of this tragic event have rarely been explored. Applying the OLS estimation on the microdata collected through a questionnaire survey among 189 secondary school students of two secondary schools…

Among college students, a correlation exists between trauma exposure and eating disorders. Although disordered eating behaviors are more prevalent than eating disorders, the relationship between different types of trauma exposure and disordered eating is unknown. The current study explored this relationship. One hundred two participants completed…

Objective: There is growing interest in the effectiveness of disaster preparedness at universities. Although several studies have examined student preparedness perceptions, a better understanding of factors that may influence actual preparedness is needed. Participants: Seven hundred sixty-five undergraduate and graduate students at a southeastern…

Background: Relatively few studies have examined prevalence and predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depressive episode (MDE) in disaster-affected adolescents. Fewer still have administered diagnostic measures or studied samples exposed to tornadoes, a common type of disaster. Further, methodologic problems limit the…

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, youth faced significant disruption to their lives due to the storm damage and, for many, long-term evacuation. One domain of functioning that faced significant threat because of this disruption was student engagement. The purpose of this study was to examine predictors of student engagement, as measured by the…

Background: In individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 70-90 % have at least one comorbid non-PTSD disorder. Objective: This study tested several hypotheses to untangle comorbidity issues. Following McMillen et al. ("Compr Psychiatry" 43(6):478-485, 2002), we hypothesized that few non-PTSD disorders would arise following…

Research Findings: It is clear that disasters negatively affect both adults and children. Yet there is little research examining the mechanisms whereby some people are negatively affected by disasters whereas others are resilient to these negative effects. Family functioning and child characteristics might be factors that influence the impact of…

This dissertation will present the findings of an in-depth study conducted on flood victims in Bangkok, Thailand. The objective of this study is to explore the feasibility of using modern technologies as a post-crisis remediation strategy to reconnect displaced families in the aftermath of a disaster. This will include investigating which modern…