CHILDRENS COPING ASSISTANCE - HOW PARENTS, TEACHERS, AND FRIENDS HELPCHILDREN COPE AFTER A NATURAL DISASTER

Investigated the construct of coping assistance, defined as actions ta ken by significant others to help children cope with stressful events, in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. The Children's Coping Assistanc e Checklist (CCAC) was developed to assess three types of coping assis tance (Emotional Processing, Roles and Routines, and Distraction) from three sources (Parents, Teachers, and Friends). The CCAC and measures of children's social support, coping, and posttraumatic stress disord er (PTSD) symptomatology were administered to 506 third through fifth graders 7 months after Hurricane Andrew. Roles and Routines coping ass istance was reported most frequently, followed by Distraction and Emot ional Processing. Coping assistance from parents and friends was repor ted more frequently than from teachers. Third graders reported signifi cantly more Emotional Processing from parents and friends than fourth and fifth graders; no sex effects were found. As expected, children wi th more severe levels of PTSD symptomatology reported more Emotional P rocessing and Distraction. coping assistance. Findings suggest that co ping assistance is an important construct for understanding children's reactions to natural disasters.