The prenatal effects of the Christchurch earthquake on executive function at five years of age : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Educational Psychology at Massey University
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Date
2017
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Massey University
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Abstract
Despite the frequency of earthquakes, particularly in New Zealand, little is known about
the long-term effects that they can have on vulnerable populations, such as mothers and
unborn babies. This study looks at the way in which a major earthquake can impact on
neurodevelopment, specifically the executive function (EF) abilities of children five
years following the disaster. The aims of this study were to determine if prenatal
earthquake exposure had an effect on EF, to determine how timing of exposure
influenced EF, if there were different EF outcomes for boys and girls, and how maternal
perceptions of severity influenced the child’s EF. Children from two groups (mothers
from Christchurch who experienced the earthquakes and mothers from Dunedin and
Timaru who did not) had their EF measured by a self-administered parent questionnaire,
the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function Second Edition (BRIEF 2).
Maternal demographics and earthquake severity experiences were gathered through a
second self-administered questionnaire. This study found that children who prenatally
experienced the earthquake had significantly worse scores on the measures of emotional
control and emotional regulation than the standardised average provided by the BRIEF
2. Exposure during the third trimester was associated with the most significant increases
in EF compared to children exposed during the second trimester and the standardised
average. In addition to emotional control and emotional regulation difficulties,
Christchurch boys also exhibited significantly higher scores on the Shift scale. Results
also showed that the worse someone close to the mother was injured, the higher the
child’s scores on the Inhibit, Organisation, and Emotional Control scale, and the
Behaviour Regulation index (BRI) were. Also, children of mothers who reported more
significantly injuring themselves in the earthquake had higher Emotional Regulation
(ERI) scores. Children whose mothers reported being overall extremely stressed by the
earthquake had the largest mean difference in emotional control and ERI scores
compared to the standardised average. Despite the small group sizes and continuing
aftershocks the variations in trimester and maternal perception of stress indicates that
prenatal exposure to a natural disaster does impact EF.
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Keywords
Christchurch Earthquake, N.Z., 2011, Psychological aspects, Emotional problems of children, Prenatal influences, Research Subject Categories::SOCIAL SCIENCES::Social sciences::Psychology::Environmental psychology