2 - (SYM 6) Respond with CARE (Child-Adult Relationship Enhancement): Trauma-informed Relationship Skills for Reducing Youth Distress in the Aftermath of Disaster

After disasters, youth are at increased risk for mental health distress. This is often characterized by changes in behaviors, thoughts, and emotions, including increased noncompliance, defiance, clinginess, withdrawal, increased irritability, and problems with concentration and attention. Relationships can be strained as carers/teachers seek to support youth while also being affected themselves. Child-Adult Relationship Enhancement (CARE) is a trauma-informed set of skills grounded in evidence-based parenting interventions and cognitive-behavioral principles, designed to improve relationships between any adult and youth (2-18 years) with whom they interact. Although not a therapy, evidence on the positive effects of CARE is growing. An adaptation, Respond with CARE, was specifically developed to apply these skills in the aftermath of disasters. The skills can help carers, educators, and disaster responders as they interact with youth to help reduce distress and improve overall outcomes. This universal intervention has been implemented post- disasters, including mass violence events. This presentation will report results of evaluations conducted over a four-year period with 378 professionals who completed Respond with CARE training. Respondents were predominantly female (80.9) and, on average, had worked 9.8 years in the field. Respondents indicated significant increases from pre-to-post training in familiarity with the effects of disaster on youth mental health (t(122)= -4.28, p < .001), and having the necessary skills and resources to help youth (t(122)= -8.71, p < .001) and caregivers (t(122)= -8.44, p < .001) post-disaster. The majority of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they could use Respond with CARE skills on a daily basis (96.0%), that they feel comfortable implementing these skills on their own (95.9), and that they recommend the training to others (99%).  Respond with CARE has promise for use after disasters as a stand-alone intervention with youth and as a complement to other universal interventions (e.g., Psychological First Aid) to help address their needs.