Pre-hurricane perceived social support protects against psychological distress: A longitudinal analysis of low-income mothers.

Abstract

Objective In this study, we examined the influence of pre-disaster perceived social support on post-disaster psychological distress among survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Method Participants (N = 386) were low-income mothers between 18 and 34 years of age at baseline (M = 26.4, SD = 4.43). The majority (84.8%) was African American; 10.4% identified as Caucasian, 3.2% identified as Hispanic, and 1.8% identified as other. Participants were enrolled in an educational intervention study in 2004 and 2005. Those who had completed a 1-year follow-up assessment prior to Hurricane Katrina were reassessed approximately 1 year after the hurricane. Measures of perceived social support and psychological distress were included in pre-and post-disaster assessments. Using structural equation modeling and multiple mediator analysis, we tested a model wherein pre-disaster perceived social support predicted post-disaster psychological distress both directly and indirectly through its effects on pre-disaster psychological distress, exposure to hurricane-related stressors, and post-disaster perceived social support. We predicted that higher pre-disaster perceived social support would be predictive of lower pre-disaster psychological distress, lower hurricane-related stressors, and higher post-disaster perceived social support, and that these variables would, in turn, predict lower post-disaster psychologically distress. Results Our analyses provide partial support for the hypothesized model. Although pre-disaster perceived social support did not exert a direct effect on post-disaster psychological distress, the indirect effects of all 3 proposed mediators were significant. Conclusions Pre-disaster social support can decrease both exposure to natural disasters and the negative psychological effects of natural disaster exposure. These findings underscore the importance of bolstering the post-disaster social support networks of low-income mothers.

The contribution of pre- and postdisaster social support to short- and long-term mental health after Hurricanes Katrina: A longitudinal study of low-income survivors

“…We found that decreased perceived social support from pre-to postdisaster reported previously remained significant at four-year postdisaster (Lowe et al, 2010), and that there was no change in perceived social support between the two postdisaster assessments. We also extended previous findings to show that the influence of predisaster perceived social support on four-year postdisaster GPD was mediated by exposure to fewer hurricane-related stressors (Lowe et al, 2010). Furthermore, we examined the impact of postdisaster perceived social support on longer-term mental health outcomes.…”

“…The purpose of this study was to extend the findings from Lowe et al (2010) by examining the association between both pre-and postdisaster perceived social support and longer-term psychological outcomes, specifically, GPD and PTS. We included the same sample but examined an additional wave of follow-up data, collected approximately four years after Hurricane Katrina.…”

“…Subsequently, we examined the impact of one-year postdisaster perceived social support on one and four-year postdisaster psychological outcomes. As in Lowe et al (2010), we controlled for predisaster GPD to provide more precise estimates of the relationship between social support and postdisaster psychological outcomes.…”

“…An improved understanding of the role of predisaster social resources would provide critical insights for public health interventions to build resilience against disasters and other catastrophic events. There is one notable exception to this gap in the existing literature, which found that a study of predisaster social support decreased significantly from pre-to postdisaster, and that predisaster social support negatively correlated with general psychological distress (GPD) one year postdisaster among Hurricane Katrina survivors (Lowe et al, 2010). Mediational analyses controlling for predisaster psychological distress further showed that the relationship between higher predisaster social support and lower postdisaster psychological distress was mediated by exposure to fewer hurricane-related stressors.…”

Social Support, Impression Management and Well-Being Following a Disaster: A Literature Review and Some Conceptual Considerations

“…Brouwers, Ever, and Tomic [29] developed the Teacher Interpersonal Self-Efficacy scale which consists of three subscales, namely Perceived Self-Efficacy in Classroom Management, Perceived Self-Efficacy in Eliciting Support from Colleagues, and Perceived Self-Efficacy in Eliciting Sarah et al, [19] studied that prehurricane perceived social support protects against psychological distress among low-income mothers. It indicates that predisaster social support can decrease both exposure to natural disasters and the negative psychological effects of natural disaster exposure.…”