Promoting Child and Family Resilience to Disasters: Effects, Interventions, and Prevention Effectiveness

Children and their families have been identified as particularly vulnerable to the effects of hazardous events.This paper combines a review of the literature with the findings of a program of research aimed at assisting children, youth, and families to more effectively cope with the effects of disasters.First, we briefly review the effects of disasters on children, and include a summary of important risk and protective factors research.We then summarize theory and research on interventions following a hazardous event.Finally, parallel to a current emphasis in our own research and practice agenda, we look at the role of preventive interventions in assisting children and their families to prepare effectively for disasters and, as a consequence, equip them both physically and psychologically.This includes a review of relevant theory and research on features of prevention relevant to promoting children's resilience to the effects of a hazardous event.It also includes a summary of findings from evaluation of school-level hazards education programs in New Zealand, including one done recently in partnership between local emergency management and schools.Based on promising research to date, we highlight those factors that may underpin intervention effectiveness, whether before or after a hazardous event.