Longitudinal predictors of school problems in youth affected by Hurricane Katrina

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, youth faced significant disruption to their lives due to the storm damage and, for many, long-term evacuation. One domain of functioning that faced significant threat because of this disruption was student engagement. The purpose of this study was to examine predictors of student engagement, as measured by the BASC-2-SRP School Problems scale, in youth affected by the Hurricane Katrina over four time points (3-7 months, 13-17 months, 19-22 months and 25-27 months post-Katrina). Participants included 426 youths living in New Orleans and the surrounding parishes at the time Hurricane Katrina made land-fall. Examined predictors included hurricane exposure, PTSD symptoms, peer and parent social support, violence exposure, internalizing problems, and externalizing problems. Analyses included repeated measures ANOVA and hierarchical regression. Results indicated stability in student engagement, internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and violence exposure across time. PTSD symptom severity decreased over time. Social support increased over time. Predictors at Time 1 showed decreasing influence and were no longer significant by Time 4. Analyses showed an evolving picture of predictors of student engagement over time