This study investigated the role of maternal psychopathology in predicting children's psychological distress in a disaster-exposed sample. Participants consisted of 260 children (ages 8-16) recruited from public schools and their mothers. These families were displaced from New Orleans because of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Assessment took place 3 to 7 months postdisaster. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that global maternal psychological distress and maternal posttraumatic stress disorder moderated the relation between child hurricane exposure and mother-reported child internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many adults and children experienced a high level of secondary stressors and mental health problems associated with their hurricane exposure (see Introduction and chap. 10, this volume;Brewin et al, 2006;Kessler, Galea, Jones, & Parker, 2006). The full impact of the disaster's effect on these children and families has yet to be elucidated. In general, research on children and families affected by disasters is limited; in fact, only 16% of disaster studies have targeted youth samples (Norris & Elrod, 2006). However, some studies have provided a general understanding of key outcomes and common trajectories of disaster-affected youth. Most children return to their premorbid level of functioning following exposure to natural disasters, although a sizeable minority continue to evidence symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) months after the traumatic experience . Although PTSD is the most common psychological outcome studied in individuals who experience trauma, children may present with a variety of difficulties, including anxiety, depression, or behavior problems (Goenjian et al., 2001;Shaw et al., 1995).