Experts in child psychology and pediatrics have ways that parents or caregivers can support kids and young adults who get anxious about bad storms or hurricanes.
Thunder making you a little jumpy? It’s a familiar feeling, especially this time of year. And according to the American Meteorological Society, it’s common. About eight in 10 people have experienced some form of fear related to weather.
Yet children and young adults are often even more susceptible to this phenomenon.
The University of Miami psychology department and the pediatrics division at the Miller School of Medicine have several experts who study weather-related anxiety—and anxiety in general—in children and young adults.
Annette La Greca, distinguished professor of psychology and pediatrics, began studying the impacts of disasters on the mental health of children and their parents after Hurricane Andrew in 1992. She has studied the topic ever since in her Youth Risk and Resilience Lab and has two free manuals for teachers, parents, and caregivers called “After the Storm,” and “Youth Strong,” which aim to help build children’s resilience to fear and other emotional reactions to storms or other disasters. She is currently working on a “Before the Storm” version.
In addition, psychology professor Jill Ehrenreich-May is an expert in child and adolescent anxiety, depression, and related concerns. She authored a widely used resource for psychologists and therapists on strategies for treating emotional disorders in youth and directs the Child and Adolescent Mood and Anxiety Treatment program—a clinic that uses evidence-based practices to help kids, teens, and parents navigate anxiety and related disorders.
And Anjali Saxena and Kendra Van Kirk are assistant professors of clinical in internal medicine and pediatrics at the Miller School. After seeing the mental health impacts of Hurricane Dorian in 2019 firsthand, they developed a literacy-based mental health program for children in the Bahamas, as part of the Global Institute for Community Health and Development. Recently, in collaboration with La Greca, they created another program to help South Florida children with complex medical needs and their families prepare for storms.
With hurricane season expected to ramp up soon, the experts share how adults can help children and those unfamiliar with storms to cope better:
Source: University of Miami
