Fire-related cognitions moderate the impact of risk factors on adjustment following wildfire disaster

Abstract This study builds upon current understanding of risk and protective factors for post-disaster adjustment by examining relationships between disaster-related cognitions, three empirically supported risk factors for poorer adjustment (i.e., greater disaster impact, female gender, and racial / ethnic minority status), and three common post-disaster outcomes (i.e., depression, anxiety, and somatic complaints). Participants were 200 students exposed to wildfire disaster. Simultaneous hierarchical regression analyses revealed that, during the acute stress period: (1) disaster-related cognitions in interaction with fire impact and minority status, as well as gender, were related to anxiety symptoms, (2) cognitions were related to depression symptoms, and (3) cognitions in interaction with minority status, as well as fire impact, were related to somatic symptoms. No examined variables predicted symptom change.