Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of Displacement in Children Exposed to Disasters

  • Child and Family Disaster Psychiatry (B Pfefferbaum, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Psychiatry Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The literature on children’s responses to disasters is well developed with increasing attention to the confounding experiences of displacement. This paper presents an overview of the emotional and behavioral effects of displacement on children and adolescents and describes their educational adjustment in terms of both academic achievement and school behavior. A summary of family effects elucidates how children’s functioning is influenced through the family system in which they are embedded. The psychosocial impact of displacement reflects the myriad social losses that children and their families may face. Information from this review of the current literature on the effects of displacement may inform the design and delivery of support and intervention services for children and families following disasters.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

  1. International Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). Annual Report 2015. Geneva, Switzerland: Author; 2015. Retrieved from http://www.internal-displacement.org/assets/publications/2015/201509-corp-IDMC-annual-report-en.pdf.

  2. U.S. Department of Agriculture. California fire siege 2007. An overview. Washington, DC: Author; (n.d.). Retrieved from http://calfire.ca.gov/fire_protection/fire_protection_2007_siege.

  3. U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Hurricane Katrina: a nation still unprepared. Executive summary. Special report of the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, United States Senate. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Publishing Office; 2006. Retrieved from http://www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/creports/katrinanation.html.

  4. Nigg JM, Barnshaw J, Torres MR. Hurricane Katrina and the flooding of New Orleans: emergent issues in sheltering and temporary housing. Ann Am Acad Political Social Sci. 2006;604(1):113–28. doi:10.1177/0002716205285889.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. U.S. Senate. Katrina’s displaced school children. Senate Hearing 109-214. Washington, DC: U.S. Superintendent of Documents, Government Publishing Office; 2005. Retrieved from https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-109shrg23696/html/CHRG-109shrg23696.htm.

  6. Geaghan KA. Forced to move: an analysis of Hurricane Katrina movers. 2009 American Housing Survey: New Orleans. SEHSD Working Paper Number 2011-17. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau; 2011. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/publications/HK_Movers-FINAL.pdf.

  7. Sastry N, Gregory J. The effect of Hurricane Katrina on the prevalence of health impairments and disability among adults in New Orleans: differences by age, race, and sex. Soc Sci Med. 2013;80:121–9. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.12.009.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. First post-Katrina American housing survey of metropolitan New Orleans. Washington, DC: Author; 2006. Retrieved from http://www.huduser.gov/portal/periodicals/ResearchWorks/RW_oct_10_1.

  9. National Commission on Children and Disasters. 2010 report to the President and Congress. AHRQ Publication No. 10-M037. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2010. Retrieved from http://archive.ahrq.gov/prep/nccdreport/.

  10. Abramson DM, Park YS, Stehling-Ariza T, Redlener I. Children as bellwethers of recovery: dysfunctional systems and the effects of parents, households, and neighborhoods on serious emotional disturbance in children after Hurricane Katrina. Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2010;4 Suppl 1:S17–27. doi:10.1001/dmp.2010.7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Yang P, Yen CF, Tang TC, Chen CS, Yang RC, Huang MS, Jong YJ, Yu HS. Posttraumatic stress disorder in adolescents after Typhoon Morakot-associated mudslides. J Anxiety Dis. 2011;25(3):362-8. DOI: http://dx.DOI.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.10.010.

  12. Brumfiel G. Fukushima: fallout of fear. Nature. 2013;493(7432):290–3. doi:10.1038/493290a.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Pfefferbaum B, Tucker P, Nitiéma P. Adolescent survivors of Hurricane Katrina: a pilot study of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning. Child Youth Care Forum. 2015;44(4):527–47. doi:10.1007/s10566-014-9297-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Milne G. Cyclone Tracy: II. The effects on Darwin children. Aust Psychol. 1977;12(1):55–62. doi:10.1080/00050067708255860.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Hansel TC, Osofsky JD, Osofsky HJ, Friedrich P. The effect of long-term relocation on child and adolescent survivors of Hurricane Katrina. J Trauma Stress. 2013;26(5):613–20. doi:10.1002/jts.21837. This Hurricane Katrina study revealed more trauma symptoms in New Orleans students who relocated to a different city than in those who returned to New Orleans, and more relocated students experienced a post-disaster trauma. The findings suggest the importance of services in schools where children relocate.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. McLaughlin KA, Fairbank JA, Gruber MJ, Jones RT, Lakoma MD, Pfefferbaum B, et al. Serious emotional disturbance among youths exposed to Hurricane Katrina 2 years postdisaster. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2009;48(11):1069–78. doi:10.1097/chi.0b013e3181b76697.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Şalcioğlu E, Başoğlu M, Livanou M. Psychosocial determinants of relocation in survivors of the 1999 earthquake in Turkey. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2008;196(1):55–61. doi:10.1097/nmd.0b013e31815fa52e.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Furr JM, Comer JS, Edmunds JM, Kendall PC. Disasters and youth: a meta-analytic examination of posttraumatic stress. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2010;78(6):765-80. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0021482.

  19. Du YB, Lee CT, Christina D, Belfer ML, Betancourt TS, O’Rourke EJ, et al. The living environment and children’s fears following the Indonesian tsunami. Disasters. 2012;36(3):495–513. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7717.2011.01271.x. This study revealed that children who experienced prolonged displacement—living in barracks—30 months after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami had more disaster-related fears than those who were living in villages; among those living in villages, there was no difference in fears between those who had previously lived in barracks and those who had never lived in barracks.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Lee C, Du YB, Christina D, Palfrey J, O’Rourke E, Belfer M. Displacement as a predictor of functional impairment in tsunami-exposed children. Disasters. 2014;39(1):86–107. doi:10.1111/disa.12088. This study revealed no difference in functional impairment in children living in barracks and those living in villages 30 months after the Indian Ocean tsunami despite greater disaster exposure and lower socioeconomic status of children living in barracks. Post-migration stressors (displacement distance and paternal employment) accounted for more variance in impaired functioning than measures of disaster exposure suggesting the importance of addressing these stressors in post-event mediation.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Pane JF, McCaffrey DF, Tharp-Taylor S, Asmus GJ, Stokes BR. Student displacement in Louisiana after the hurricanes of 2005: experiences of public schools and their students. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. 2006. 133p. Document No. TR-430-RC. Retrieved from http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR430.html.

  22. Ward ME, Shelley K, Kaase K, Pane JF. Hurricane Katrina: a longitudinal study of the achievement and behavior of displaced students. JESPAR. 2008;13(2-3):297–317. doi:10.1080/10824660802350391.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Robertson CC, King JE. Boŋ Feerey: a teaching and learning methodology for healing wounds of distance, displacement, and loss caused by Hurricane Katrina. J Black Stud. 2007;37(4):469–81. doi:10.1177/0021934706296185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Pfefferbaum B, Houston JB, Wyche KF, Van Horn RL, Reyes G, Jeon-Slaughter H, et al. Children displaced by Hurricane Katrina: a focus group study. J Loss Trauma. 2008;13(5):303–18. doi:10.1080/15325020701741989.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Reich JA, Wadsworth ME. Out of the floodwaters, but not yet on dry ground: experiences of displacement and adjustment in adolescents and their parents following Hurricane Katrina. Child Youth Environ. 2008;18(1):354–70.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Peek LA, Richardson K. In their own words: displaced children’s educational recovery needs after Hurricane Katrina. Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2010;4(Supp 1):S63–70. doi:10.1001/dmp.2010.10060910.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Pfefferbaum B, Jacobs AK, Griffin N, Houston JB. Children’s disaster reactions: the influence of exposure and personal characteristics. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2015;17(7). DOI: 10.1007/s11920-015-0598-5.

  28. Wickrama KAS, Kaspar V. Family context of mental health risk in Tsunami-exposed adolescents: findings from a pilot study in Sri Lanka. Soc Sci Med. 2007;64(3):713–23. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.09.031.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Carballo M, Heal B, Horbaty G. Impact of the tsunami on psychosocial health and well-being. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2006;18(3):217–23. doi:10.1080/09540260600655870.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Uscher-Pines L. Health effects of relocation following disaster: a systematic review of the literature. Disasters. 2009;33(1):1–22. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7717.2008.01059.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Norris FH, Baker CK, Murphy AD, Kaniasty K. Social support mobilization and deterioration after Mexico’s 1999 flood: effects of context, gender, and time. Am J Comm Psychol. 2005;36(1-2):15–28. doi:10.1007/s10464-005-6230-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Bonanno GA, Brewin CR, Kaniasty K, La Greca AM. Weighing the costs of disaster: consequences, risks, and resilience in individuals, families, and communities. Psychol Sci Public Int. 2010;11(1):1–49. doi:10.1177/1529100610387086.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Pina AA, Villalta IK, Ortiz CD, Gottschall AC, Costa NM, Weems CF. Social support, discrimination, and coping as predictors of posttraumatic stress reactions in youth survivors of Hurricane Katrina. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2008;37(3):564–74. doi:10.1080/15374410802148228.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Rendall MS. Breakup of New Orleans households after Hurricane Katrina. J Marriage Fam. 2011;73(3):654–68. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2011.00837.x.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  35. Prewitt-Diaz JO, Dayal A. Sense of place: a model for community based psychosocial support programs. Australasian J Disaster Trauma Stud. 2008;(2008-1). Retrieved from http://www.massey.ac.nz/%7Etrauma/issues/2008-1/prewitt_diaz.htm.

  36. Wilson RK, Stein RM. Katrina evacuees in Houston: one-year out. Houston, TX: Division of Social Sciences, Rice University; 2006. Retrieved from http://brl.rice.edu/Katrina/White_Papers/White_Paper_9_8_06.pdf.

  37. Kulkarni S, Bell H, Beausoleil J, Lein L, Angel RJ, Mason JH. When floods of compassion are not enough: a nation’s and a city’s response to the evacuees of Hurricane Katrina. Smith Coll Stud Soc Work. 2008;78(4):399–425. doi:10.1080/00377310802378578.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Fussell E, Lowe SR. The impact of housing displacement on the mental health of low-income parents after Hurricane Katrina. Soc Sci Med. 2014;113:137–44. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.05.025.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  39. Nuttman-Shwartz O, Huss E, Altman A. The experience of forced relocation as expressed in children’s drawings. Clin Social Work J. 2010;38(4):397–407. doi:10.1007/s10615-010-0288-z.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was conducted at the Terrorism and Disaster Center (TDC) at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC), Oklahoma City, OK, and at the Disaster and Community Crisis Center (DCC) at the University of Missouri (MU), Columbia, MO, which are part of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) and funded in part by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The findings, conclusions, opinions, and contents of this article are those of the authors and do not represent the official position of DCC, DHHS, MU, NCTSN, OUHSC, SAMHSA, or TDC.

A special thank you to Dr. Tami D. Benton for taking the time to review this paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 920 Stanton L. Young Boulevard, P.O. Box 26901 WP-3217, Oklahoma City, OK, 73126-0901, USA

    Betty Pfefferbaum

  2. Terrorism and Disaster Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 920 Stanton L. Young Boulevard, P.O. Box 26901 WP-3217, Oklahoma City, OK, 73126-0901, USA

    Betty Pfefferbaum, Anne K. Jacobs & Richard L. Van Horn

  3. Disaster and Community Crisis Center, Department of Communication, University of Missouri, 115 Switzler Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211-2310, USA

    J. Brian Houston

Authors
  1. Betty Pfefferbaum
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anne K. Jacobs
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Richard L. Van Horn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. J. Brian Houston
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Betty Pfefferbaum.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Child and Family Disaster Psychiatry

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Pfefferbaum, B., Jacobs, A.K., Van Horn, R.L. et al. Effects of Displacement in Children Exposed to Disasters. Curr Psychiatry Rep 18, 71 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-016-0714-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-016-0714-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation