One of the hurdles most frequently encountered in the study of natural disasters and their effects is a lack of data from before the event. In a study to appear in Social Science and Medicine, a team of researchers from three American universities used data they had collected prior to Hurricane Katrina to put together a uniquely longitudinal study of the effects that disaster had on the mental health of New Orleans residents.
In 2003, the team set out to study low-income adult women enrolled in community colleges, and collected data on income, education, and health from three sites in New Orleans. After the devastating 2005 hurricane, the team decided to take what they had collected and periodically revisit the health problems facing the survivors.
Five years after the event, the team was able to track down participants in 23 states and conducted two follow-up interviews with each. They assessed each woman for signs of psychological distress and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Levels of both had declined significantly since the hurricane, but 30 percent reported signs of psychological distress and 33 percent had PTSS, well above pre-Katrina levels. These results directly contradict prior research that found population-wide stress levels tend to return to normal over a shorter period of time, usually less than a year.
Because their sample group was so specifically defined, the authors of the study admit that their results are likely not valid for the whole population that has to face disasters, but they maintain that it highlights the greater-than-average impact such disasters can have on certain vulnerable subgroups.
Source: Social Science and Medicine
