Background: As access to open data is increasing, researchers gain the opportunity to build integrated datasets and to conduct more powerful statistical analyses. However, using open access data presents challenges for researchers in understanding the data. Visuals allow researchers to address these challenges by facilitating a greater…

Background: Families exposed to disasters such as Hurricane Katrina are at risk for numerous adverse outcomes. While previous literature suggests that the degree of disaster exposure corresponds with experiencing negative outcomes, it is unclear if parents and children report similar levels of disaster exposure. Objective: The purpose of this…

The Social Support Questionnaire for Children (SSQC) is a 50-item scale that assesses children's social support from parents, relatives, nonrelative adults, siblings, and peers. The SSQC demonstrates good psychometric properties (e.g., internal consistency, factorial validity). Furthermore, the SSQC appears to be an ethnically sensitive measure of…

Background: Disasters are destructive, potentially traumatic events that affect millions of youth each year. Objective: The purpose of this paper was to review the literature on depressive symptoms among youth after disasters. Specifically, we examined the prevalence of depression, risk factors associated with depressive symptoms, and theories…

Background: There are no studies of the distinct trajectories of children's psychological distress over the first year after a destructive natural disaster and the determinants of these trajectories. Objective: We examined these issues using an existing dataset of children exposed to Hurricane Andrew, one of the most devastating natural…