Predicting Conduct Problems From Community and Family Violence: The Moderating Effects of Hurricane Katrina

• NCJ Number: 228685
• Journal: Journal of Family Violence Volume: 24 Issue: 8 Dated: November 2009 Pages: 597-605
• Author(s): Julia F. Vigna; Brittany C. Hernandez; Mary Lou Kelley
• Date Published: November 2009
• Length: 9 pages
• Grant Number(s): RMH-078148A
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the moderating effects of exposure to a natural disaster (Hurricane Katrina) on various experiences of violence that have been linked with youth conduct problems, such as exposure to community violence (ECV) and corporal punishment.

Abstract

The study found that neither hurricane-related life-threatening experiences nor hurricane-related loss and disruption were distinctively related to conduct problems in the study sample. This finding is inconsistent with past literature, which has found evidence of a positive link between disaster exposure and aggressive or delinquent behavior. The finding that boys and older youth exhibited more conduct problems is well-supported in the literature. Significant main effects for corporal punishment also emerged, but these effects were qualified by interactions. Hypotheses that predicted a moderating effect of hurricane exposure on the relation between ECV and conduct problems were partially supported. As expected, results showed that children with low levels of hurricane-related life-threatening experiences manifested conduct problems in a different manner than those children with high levels of hurricane threat. Although the patterns of relations found were not statistically significant, there was a tendency for youth who experienced low levels of hurricane exposure to show an increase in conduct problems; whereas, those experiencing higher levels showed decreases in conduct problems. The study found that exposure to a disaster is a risk factor for conduct problems among youth who are already exposed to corporal punishment. At low levels of hurricane exposure, there was not a significant difference in conduct problems between youth experiencing low compared to high levels of corporal punishment; however, with heightened hurricane exposure, higher levels of corporal punishment predicted increased conduct problems more so than low levels of corporal punishment. Study participants were 172 displaced mother-child dyads from New Orleans and surrounding areas who were participating in an ongoing study. 5 tables, 2 figures, and 31 references