Pre-hurricane perceived social support protects against psychological distress: a longitudinal analysis of low-income mothers.
OBJECTIVE
In this study, we examined the influence of pre-disaster perceived social support on post-disaster psychological distress among survivors of Hurricane Katrina.


METHODS
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.
Lowe
Sarah R
SR
Department of Psychology.
Chan
Christian S
CS
0000-0003-2616-5199
Department of Psychology.
Rhodes
Jean E
JE
Department of Psychology.
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012944:Social Support; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult