Research Methods in Child Disaster Studies: A Review of Studies Generated by the September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks; the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami; and Hurricane Katrina.
BACKGROUND
A comprehensive review of the design principles and methodological approaches that have been used to make inferences from the research on disasters in children is needed.


OBJECTIVE
To identify the methodological approaches used to study children's reactions to three recent major disasters-the September 11, 2001, attacks; the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami; and Hurricane Katrina.


METHODS
This review was guided by a systematic literature search.


RESULTS
A total of 165 unduplicated empirical reports were generated by the search and examined for this review. This included 83 references on September 11, 29 on the 2004 Tsunami, and 53 on Hurricane Katrina.


CONCLUSIONS
A diversity of methods has been brought to bear in understanding children's reactions to disasters. While cross-sectional studies predominate, pre-event data for some investigations emerged from archival data and data from studies examining non-disaster topics. The nature and extent of the influence of risk and protective variables beyond disaster exposure are not fully understood due, in part, to limitations in the study designs used in the extant research. Advancing an understanding of the roles of exposure and various individual, family, and social factors depends upon the extent to which measures and assessment techniques are valid and reliable, as well as on data sources and data collection designs. Comprehensive assessments that extend beyond questionnaires and checklists to include interviews and cognitive and biological measures to elucidate the negative and positive effects of disasters on children also may improve the knowledge base.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, WP 3470, P.O. Box 26901, Oklahoma City, OK 73126-0901, USA. Terrorism and Disaster Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
Betty
B
Pfefferbaum
Department of Psychology, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Carl F
CF
Weems
Department of Psychology, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Brandon G
BG
Scott
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma, Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA. Terrorism and Disaster Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
Pascal
P
Nitiéma
Courtroom Sciences, Inc., Irving, TX, USA. Terrorism and Disaster Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
Mary A
MA
Noffsinger
Liberal Arts Department, Phoenix Community College, Phoenix, AZ, USA. Terrorism and Disaster Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
Rose L
RL
Pfefferbaum
Terrorism and Disaster Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
Vandana
V
Varma
College of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
Amarsha
A
Chakraburtty
Disaster; Research design; Research methods; Research samples; Terrorism; Trauma