Premium
The role of natural disaster in individual and relational adjustment in Sri Lankan mothers following the 2004 tsunami
Author(s) -
Banford Alyssa,
Ivey David C.,
Wickrama Thulitha,
Fischer Judith,
Prouty Anne,
Smith Douglas
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
disasters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.744
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1467-7717
pISSN - 0361-3666
DOI - 10.1111/disa.12137
Subject(s) - bivariate analysis , distress , mental health , path analysis (statistics) , natural disaster , poison control , medicine , injury prevention , occupational safety and health , multivariate analysis , suicide prevention , psychology , psychiatry , clinical psychology , demography , environmental health , geography , statistics , mathematics , pathology , meteorology , sociology
The purpose of this study is to examine the associations between maternal mental health distress symptoms, including depression and post‐traumatic stress disorder, the extent to which the presence of a child's disaster‐related physical health problem(s) have interfered with daily functioning, and family cohesion over time among Sri Lankan mothers who survived the tsunami on 26 December 2004. Study variables were measured using a self‐report questionnaire administered approximately four months after the event and three years later in summer 2008. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were conducted. Path analysis was employed to assess the relationships between the key variables over time and the correlations in the study variables at each time point. Among other findings, the results of the path analysis indicated that post‐traumatic stress symptom distress four months after the disaster significantly predicted variance in family cohesion three years later. Clinical and empirical research implications are presented and discussed.