Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 11, 2026

A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents
Published on: July 10, 2017
Peer deviance, social support, and symptoms of internalizing disorders among youth exposed to Hurricane Georges
Sonia L Rubens1, Eric M Vernberg, Erika D Felix
1University of Kansas, Clinical Child Psychology Program, 2017 Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Ave., Lawrence, KS 66045, USA. sschwartz@ku.edu
Abstract:
This study examined the influence of peers in meeting DSM-IV symptom criteria for an internalizing disorder in adolescents exposed to Hurricane Georges. Participants included a representative community sample of 905 youth (n = 476 boys) ages 11-17, residing in Puerto Rico. Data were gathered on hurricane exposure, symptoms of internalizing disorders, peer social support, peer violence, and peer substance use through in-person structured interviews with adolescents and caretakers from 1999 to 2000 in Puerto Rico, 12-27 months after Hurricane Georges. Hurricane exposure, peer violence, and peer substance use predicted whether adolescents met DSM-IV symptom criteria for a measured internalizing disorder. An interaction was found between hurricane exposure and peer violence, which indicated that hurricane exposure was significantly related to meeting DSM-IV symptom criteria for an internalizing disorder among adolescents who do not report associating with violent peers. However, for participants who reported high levels of peer violence, hurricane exposure did not convey additional risk for meeting DSM-IV symptom criteria for an internalizing disorder. With the increasing role peers play in adolescents' lives, understanding the influence of peers on the development of internalizing symptoms following hurricane exposure may assist in planning developmentally sensitive response plans.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Bullying
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Social Foundations of Self II: The Generalized Other
Deindividuation
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Symptoms and Behavioral Manifestations
A spectrum of distressing symptoms characterizes PTSD. Recurrent flashbacks, where individuals involuntarily relive traumatic events, are a...
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture

