Recalling a Devastating Tornado: Qualities of Child Recollections and Associations with Mental Health Symptoms

A Prospective Study of Co-Rumination in Parent-Adolescent Conversations Several Years After a Devastating Tornado

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the association between youth post-disaster stress responses and co-rumination in conversations with a parent several years after a devastating tornado.

METHOD

Adolescents (N = 200) drawn from an ongoing study for aggressive youth (ages 13 to 17; 80% African American) and their parents experienced an EF-4 tornado in 2011 and then provided joint recollections about their tornado experiences approximately 5 years later. Recollections were coded for the four components of co-rumination: rehashing problems, dwelling on negative affect, mutual encouragement of problem talk, and speculating about problems. Parent-rated post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and youth resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were measured approximately 6-months and 1-year post-tornado, respectively.

RESULTS

Results indicated that co-rumination could be identified, and reliably measured, in the tornado conversations. Resting RSA moderated the association between post-disaster PTSS and the co-rumination component dwelling on negative affect, such that youth PTSS was associated with higher levels of dwelling on negative affect but only at lower levels of resting RSA (an index of physiological dysregulation). There was no association between youth PTSS and dwelling on negative affect at high resting RSA (an index of better physiological regulation). Youth PTSS and resting RSA were unrelated to the other three co-rumination components. No gender differences were found.

CONCLUSIONS

Results provide preliminary evidence establishing the co-rumination coding scheme in a sample of disaster-exposed parents and adolescents. Results also indicated that PTSS and resting RSA are important youth-level factors that relate to how parents and adolescents discuss their disaster experiences even years post-exposure.

Mental Health Impacts of Tornadoes: A Systematic Review

Tornadoes are one of the most prevalent natural hazards in the United States, yet they have been underrepresented in the disaster mental health comprehensive literature. In the current study, we systematically reviewed available scientific evidence within published research journals on tornadoes and mental health from 1994 to 2021. The electronic search strategy identified 384 potentially relevant articles. Of the 384 articles, 29 articles met the inclusion criteria, representing 27,534 participants. Four broad areas were identified: (i) Mental health impacts of tornadoes; (ii) Risk factors; (iii) Protective factors; and (iv) Mental health interventions. Overall, results showed adverse mental health symptoms (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety) in both adult and pediatric populations. A number of risk factors were found to contribute to negative mental health, including demographics, tornado exposure, post-tornado stressors, and prior exposure to trauma. Protective factors found to contribute to positive outcomes included having access to physical, social, and psychological resources. Together, these findings can serve as an important resource for future mental health services in communities experiencing tornadoes.

Climate change impacts on the mental health and wellbeing of young people: A scoping review of risk and protective factors

BACKGROUND/RATIONALE

The impact of climate change on the mental health of young people is poorly understood. Emerging evidence suggests that exposure to climate change exerts a disproportionate mental health burden on young people. An understanding of the risk factors (RFs) and protective factors (PFs) that affect the likelihood of mental health impacts arising from exposure to climate change is required to support youth wellbeing.

AIMS/OBJECTIVES

This review scopes the current research on what and how RFs and PFs are related to the mental health impacts of both direct and indirect exposure to climate change for young people. RFs and PFs were reviewed through the lens of ecological system theory.

METHODS

We conducted systematic searches in four databases: PubMed, PsycInfo, Web of Science, and Scopus. Grey literature searches were conducted in ProQuest Dissertations, GreyLit.org, OpenGrey, and relevant organisations' websites. We included 92 empirical studies focused on the RFs and PFs of the mental wellbeing under the impact of climate change of young people (0-24). We extracted data on study characteristics, type of climate change event, mental health outcomes, RFs and PFs, and associated ecological system level.

RESULTS

The current evidence base focuses predominantly on young people's experience of PTSD (k = 59), depression (k = 26), or anxiety (k = 17) mainly following exposure to singular climate change-related natural disaster events. Only four studies explored the impacts of climate change in general. Majority of the studies investigated RFs and PFs at the individual level and at the micro-system level.

CONCLUSIONS

Several RFs and PFs were identified, such as coping strategies, family factors (e.g. parenting style), social support, community connection, and cultural identity. Positioning the mental health impacts of singular events within the broader context of ongoing and escalating climate change impacts will better inform the development of interventions that seek to build resilience among young people.

Mother’s Concern in the Family about Her Child with Post-Traumatic Due to the Tornado in Central Java, Indonesia – A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND: Natural disasters continue to occur worldwide, influencing the economy, finances, and psychological problems. Traumatic on children is an impact of the catastrophe likely a burden on the family, especially mothers who accompany their children as caregivers. AIM: The purpose of the study was to explore children’s traumatic experiences from mothers in a family in a rural community in Indonesia. METHODS: We conducted six focus groups with mothers to explore their traumatic children’s experiences using a qualitative research design. Thirty mothers with children 3−10 years old contributed to the focus groups across all sites. We formed focus groups with six mothers and continued in-depth interviews, including nine mothers. RESULTS: The mothers had similar experiences understanding their children’s trauma due to natural tornado disasters. This study revealed three overarching themes shaping the mothers’ experience: anxiety in children, trauma trigger, and lingering distress. All themes lead to the main theme is psychological distress in the face of a child suffering from PTSD. From the hermeneutical perspective, topics can be identified as terms, including being-thrownness, being-fallenness and being-alongside. CONCLUSION: Children with post-traumatic stress disorder may impact family physiological problems, especially the mother. The study found that may place the burden of care for children on the person’s families.

Caregiver–adolescent co-reminiscing and adolescents’ individual recollections of a devastating tornado: Associations with enduring posttraumatic stress symptoms

Although disaster-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) typically decrease in intensity over time, some youth continue to report elevated levels of PTSS many years after the disaster. The current study examines two processes that may help to explain the link between disaster exposure and enduring PTSS: caregiver emotion socialization and youth recollection qualities. One hundred and twenty-two youth (ages 12 to 17) and their female caregivers who experienced an EF-4 tornado co-reminisced about the event, and adolescents provided independent recollections between 3 and 4 years after the tornado. Adolescent individual transcripts were coded for coherence and negative personal impact, qualities that have been found to contribute to meaning making. Parent–adolescent conversations were coded for caregiver egocentrism, a construct derived from the emotion socialization literature to reflect the extent to which the caregiver centered the conversation on her own emotions and experiences. Egocentrism predicted higher youth PTSS, and this association was mediated by the coherence of adolescents’ narratives. The association between coherence and PTSS was stronger for youth who focused more on the negative personal impacts of the tornado event during their recollections. Results suggest that enduring tornado-related PTSS may be influenced in part by the interplay of caregiver emotion socialization practices and youth recollection qualities.