The Impact of Hurricane Andrew on Deviant Behavior among a Multi-Racial/Ethnic Sample of Adolescents in Dade County, Florida: A Longitudinal Analysis

Findings from a longitudinal study are presented on the relationships between the problems and stresses resulting from Hurricane Andrew and posthurricane minor deviant behavior. The sample (N = 4,978) included Hispanic, African-American, and White non-Hispanic middle school students enrolled in Dade County, Florida public schools. Two waves of data were collected prior to the hurricane; a third was obtained approximately 6 months following the storm. Results indicated that females were likely to report higher levels of hurricane-related stress symptoms than males. After controlling for prehurricane levels of minor deviance, family support, and race/ethnicity, hurricane stress symptom level remained a significant predictor of posthurricane minor deviant behavior. The findings lend support to stress theories of social deviance. There is a substantial and growing body of literature on the relation-ships between large scale disasters and their mental health consequences among children and adolescents. Although there are variations in th