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Hurricane Katrina did not significantly elevate maternal depression

Most mothers living in Louisiana did not experience increased depressive symptom trajectories following Hurricane Katrina, and social support was a protective factor of depression resilience, according to recent findings.

Researchers evaluated 283 mother-child dyads who were enrolled in a larger longitudinal study of parents and children living in southern Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina. As part of the primary study, participants were assessed at four time points over 2 years following Hurricane Katrina: at 3 to 7 months post-disaster (baseline); 13 to 17 months; 19 to 22 months; and 25 to 27 months. Mothers’ ages ranged from 26 to 61 years at baseline and 62% were black, 31% were white and 7% other. Average level of education accrued was high school graduation and the average predisaster household income was $15,000 to $24,000. Children’s ages ranged from 8 to 15 years.

At all four time points, mothers self-reported on posttraumatic stress symptoms, hurricane exposure, hurricane-related stressors, exposure to other traumatic situations and perception of social support.

Maternal depression was assessed using the Brief Symptom Inventory at time points 2, 3 and 4. Posttraumatic stress was measured among children at time point 3.

Researchers identified three depression trajectories: low (61%), resilient (29%) and chronic (10%).

Study participants in the low depression trajectory reported the lowest exposure to hurricane-related stressors, whereas those in the resilient and chronic trajectories had comparable levels of disaster exposures. There was no difference between the trajectories in levels of perceived life threat, but there was a disparity in feelings of immediate and ongoing loss/disruption of life. The low depression trajectory reported the lowest levels of immediate loss/disruption.

Researchers evaluated factors that distinguished mothers who fell into the resilient vs. the chronic trajectories, since the two groups had comparable levels of disaster exposure. They found no risk factors that differentiated between the odds of falling into the chronic vs. resilient groups; however, social support was found to be protective. For each additional unit of self-reported social support, mothers had a 0.03-times lower likelihood of developing chronic depression vs. a resilient depression trajectory (OR = 0.97; 95% CI, 0.95-0.99). The depression trajectories of the mothers were not associated with the distress outcomes of their children.

“This study represents a crucial first step in understanding mothers’ depression trajectories postdisaster,” the researchers wrote. “Risk and protective factors for depression trajectories represent potential avenues for clinical intervention. In addition, studies are needed that examine fathers’ distress symptoms, in order to better understand the family context postdisaster.”

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant disclosures.