Mental Health Among Adolescents Exposed to a Tornado: The Influence of Social Support and Its Interactions With Sociodemographic Characteristics and Disaster Exposure

Abstract

Approximately 25% of youths experience a natural disaster and many experience disaster-related distress, including symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. This study contributes to the literature by examining PTSD and depressive symptoms among 2,000 adolescents (50.9% female, 70.5% White) assessed after exposure to tornadoes in 2011. The authors hypothesized that greater tornado exposure, female sex, and younger age would be associated with distress, and that social support would interact with these associations. Analyses showed that PTSD symptoms were predicted by lower levels of social support (β = −.28, p < .001), greater tornado exposure (β = .14, p<.001), lower household income (β = −.06, p = .013, female sex (β = −.10, p<.001), and older age (β = .07, p = .002), with a 3-way interaction between tornado exposure, sex, and social support (β = −.06, p = .017). For boys, the influence of tornado exposure on PTSD symptoms increased as social support decreased. Regardless of level of tornado exposure, low social support was related to PTSD symptoms for girls; depressive symptom results were similar. These findings are generally consistent with the literature and provide guidance for intervention development focused on strengthening social support at the individual, family, and community levels.

Dispositional mindfulness mediates the relations between neuroticism and posttraumatic stress disorder and depression in Chinese adolescents after a tornado

“…Many studies indicated that PTSD and depression were the two most common symptoms following Wenchuan earthquake in China (Lau et al, 2010; Wang et al, 2012; Zhang, Shi, Wang, & Liu, 2012). Similarly, numerous studies concerning tornadoes found that PTSD and depression were often reported (Adams et al, 2015; Adams et al, 2014; Paul et al, 2015). Several studies reported that the prevalence of depression ranged from 14.5 to 40.8% among child survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake (Fan et al, 2011; Liu et al, 2011; Qu et al, 2012; Wang et al, 2012; Zang, 2010; Zheng, Fan, Liu, & Mo, 2012).…”

“…According to the cited evidence above, traumatized adolescents not only commonly showed PTSD but also frequently reported depression following traumatic events. While many researchers have suggested that PTSD and depression may be coexistent in people after experiencing natural disasters (Fan et al, 2011; Paul et al, 2015). Hence, it is important to explore the potential protective factors of both PTSD and depression following exposure to natural calamities.…”

An Examination of Social Support and PTSD Treatment Response During Prolonged Exposure

“…It should be noted, however, that social support is a multidimensional construct that includes both the structure of a support network, the function of the support, and the user and giver’s perceptions (Sherbourne & Stewart, 1991). Numerous cross-sectional studies using different trauma-exposed populations have shown a negative relation between social support and PTSD symptoms severity including disaster victims (Paul et al, 2015), survivors of sexual assault (Borja, Callahan, & Long, 2006; Ullman, Townsend, Filipas, & Starzynski, 2007), and combat veterans (Pietrzak, Johnson, Goldstein, Malley, & Southwick, 2009). Taken together, there is a consensus that elevated social support is associated with reduced PTSD symptom severity.…”

Adolescent Substance Use Following a Deadly U.S. Tornado Outbreak: A Population-Based Study of 2,000 Families

“…The composite measure of family tornado exposure (‘composite exposure’) is a sum of the 17 disaster exposure and impact, property damage, and loss of services variables (described below, each coded as present or absent). The measure has good internal consistency (alpha = .81), and has been used in prior research with this sample (Paul et al, in press). This measure ranged from 0 to 17, with a mean of 5.07 (SD=3.19) in our sample.…”