| Summary: | While many children emotionally recover following a disaster (Salzer & Bickman, 1999), possibly one-third of children will experience significant psychological distress or post-traumatic stress symptoms which cause interference with their daily school and home functioning (Vernberg, La Greca, Silverman, & Prinstein, 1996). Research supports the role that exposure, loss, and disruption play in increasing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) severity in children following disasters (La Greca, Silverman, Vernberg, Prinstein, 1996; Verberg et al., 1996). However, there are no assessments or questionnaires that have investigated what type of events during and following a hurricane are most predictive of post-traumatic stress reactions. Using logistic regression analyses, the current study examines childrens hurricane experiences and post-hurricane events in order to develop as assessment tool with psychometric properties that predicts post-traumatic stress symptomatology in children. The 20 items retained for the Hurricane Experiences and Life Disruption (HELD) Questionnaire were found to be significantly predictive of PTSD symptomatology.
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