The psychosocial impact of Hurricane Katrina: Contextual differences in psychological symptoms, social support, and discrimination

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Abstract

This study tested a contextual model of disaster reaction by examining regional differences in the psychosocial impact of Hurricane Katrina. A total of 386 individuals participated in this study. All were recruited in the primary areas affected by Hurricane Katrina and included residents of metropolitan New Orleans (Orleans Parish, Louisiana), Greater New Orleans (i.e., Metairie, Kenner, Gretna), and the Mississippi Gulf Coast (i.e., cities along the coast from Waveland to Ocean Springs, Mississippi). Participants were assessed for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, other psychological symptoms, perceptions of discrimination, perceptions of social support, evacuation distance, and the extent to which they experienced hurricane-related stressful events. Results were consistent with previous research on the impact of disasters on mental health symptoms. Findings extended research on individual differences in the response to trauma and indicated that regional context predicted unique variance in the experience of discrimination, social support, and emotional symptoms consistent with the theoretical model presented.

Section snippets

Participants

A total of 401 individuals aged 18–86 years (59% female, mean age 33 years) were surveyed for this study. Fifteen individuals either failed to report residence or reported residing in an area outside the three regions of interest and thus were not included in the final sample (N=386). All participants were recruited in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina and the recruitment strategy aimed to include a representative sample from each of the communities (i.e., those with or without resources

Preliminary and descriptive analyses

Examination of the scores’ ranges and skew for continuous variables indicated acceptable levels for the planned analyses. Table 1 provides a comparison of the three regional groups on demographic variables and hurricane experiences. Comparison of the groups on demographic variables indicated significant differences in gender and family income. Residents also differed in the number of traumatic events experienced and the evacuation distance reported. As shown in Table 1, the sample participants

Discussion

The results of this study suggest that the residents of the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina were subjected to a large number of traumatic events and experienced a number of psychological symptoms in the relatively immediate aftermath of the hurricane. These findings are consistent with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports on Hurricane Katrina (see Weisler et al., 2006). Results are also consistent with previous research showing that the number of hurricane disaster events a

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