Convergence: Connecting Levels of Analysis in Psychological Science
In the past, our field harbored distinct, and often competing, schools of thought that tackled different problems and produced findings that often appeared to diverge. Today, investigators attack shared problems at complementary levels of analysis and produce results that converge. Studies of people in a social world; mental systems of cognition and emotion; and biological mechanisms of the genome and the nervous system interconnect and yield an integrated psychological science. The APS 23rd Annual Convention displays, and celebrates, these advances in our field.

Symposium

A Multi-Disciplinary Look at Psychological Well-Being After the Tuscaloosa Tornado

Sunday, May 27, 2012, 12:00 PM - 1:20 PM
Ontario

Chair: Rosanna E. Guadagno
University of Alabama

Who is at risk for PTSD after a tornado? Do men and women who use Facebook vary in their recovery from a tornado? Does the degree of Facebook use affect coping and recovery among tornado victims? How does a tornado affect children's behavior? This symposium will address these questions.

Tornado Effects on Children’s Behavioral, Emotional and Psychophysiological Functioning and Parents’ Depression
John E. Lochman
University of Alabama
This paper presents children’s behavioral, emotiona, (teacher, parent, peer, and self-reports), social (children’s peer relations based on peer, teacher, and self-report) and psychophysiological (skin conductance, heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia) functioning collected both prior to disaster exposure (the Tuscaloosa tornado on April 27, 2011) and after disaster exposure.

Co-Author: Eric Vernberg, University of Kansas

Co-Author: Caroline Boxmeyer, University of Alabama

Co-Author: Nicole Powell, University of Alabama

When the Dust Settles: Risk and Resilience in Post-Disaster Psychological Adjustment
James C. Hamilton
University of Alabama
We will address the relation of pre-disaster risk and resilience factors to 6-month post-disaster outcome in the wake of the EF-4 tornado that devastated Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on April 27, 2011. Our discussion will focus on the role of pre-morbid depression as a moderator of these risk and resilience effects.

Co-Author: Ian Sherwood, University of Alabama

Co-Author: Steven Allon, University of Alabama

Co-Author: Rebecca Thompson, University of Alabama

I Stress Because I Obsess: Facebook Use Predicts Psychological Outcomes After Disaster
Nicole L. Muscanell
University of Alabama
This study examined Facebook use and psychological well-being after a disaster. Results suggest that while social media may be a useful means of communication in the midst of a disaster, it may actually predict more stress and negative affect, while offline social support may predict better psychological outcomes.

Co-Author: Rosanna E. Guadagno, University of Alabama

Co-Author: Joan M. Barth, University of Alabama

Co-Author: Melissa K. Goodwin, University of Alabama

Co-Author: Yang Yang, University of Alabama

Dealing With Disaster: Gender Differences in Facebook Users’ Coping After the Tuscaloosa EF4 Tornado
Rosanna E. Guadagno
University of Alabama
We examined gender differences in psychological well-being among Facebook-using college students after an EF4 tornado hit Tuscaloosa, Alabama - the home of the University of Alabama - on April 27, 2011. Women, but not men, reported improved well-being as the tornado became more temporally distant.

Co-Author: Nicole L. Muscanell, University of Alabama

Co-Author: Joan M. Barth, University of Alabama

Co-Author: Melissa K. Goodwin, University of Alabama

Co-Author: Yang Yang, University of Alabama

Subject Area: Clinical