Perceptions of Racism in Hurricane Katrina-Related Events: Implications for Collective Guilt and Mental Health Among White Americans

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Blodorn ◽  
Laurie T. O’Brien
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Collective Guilt ◽  
Perceptions Of Racism

Understanding White Americans' Perceptions of Racism in Hurricane Katrina-Related Events

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 431-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie T. O'Brien ◽  
Alison Blodorn ◽  
AnGelica Alsbrooks ◽  
Reesa Dube ◽  
Glenn Adams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Perceptions Of Racism

Do Racial Differences in Coping Resources Explain the Black–White Paradox in Mental Health? A Test of Multiple Mechanisms

2021 ◽  
pp. 002214652110410
Author(s):  
Patricia Louie ◽  
Laura Upenieks ◽  
Christy L. Erving ◽  
Courtney S. Thomas Tobin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Racial Differences ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Coping Resources ◽  
Religious Attendance ◽  
Health Study ◽  
White Americans

A central paradox in the mental health literature is the tendency for black Americans to report similar or better mental health than white Americans despite experiencing greater stress exposure. However, black Americans’ higher levels of certain coping resources may explain this finding. Using data from the Nashville Stress and Health Study (n = 1,186), we examine whether black Americans have higher levels of self-esteem, social support, religious attendance, and divine control than white Americans and whether these resources, in turn, explain the black–white paradox in mental health. In adjusted models, the black–white paradox holds for depressive symptoms and any DSM-IV disorder. Findings indicate that black Americans have higher levels of self-esteem, family social support, and religiosity than white Americans. Causal mediation techniques reveal that self-esteem has the largest effect in explaining black–white differences in depressive symptoms, whereas divine control has the largest effect in explaining differences in disorder.

A Review of Mental Health Issues as a Result of Hurricane Katrina

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-124
Author(s):  
Mordecai N. Potash ◽  
Daniel K. Winstead
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Mental Health Issues

Pediatric disaster preparedness in the medical setting: Integrating mental health

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 137-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey I. Gold, PhD ◽  
Zorash Montano, BA ◽  
Sandra Shields, LMFT, ATR-BC, CTS ◽  
Nicole E. Mahrer, BA ◽  
Viktoria Vibhakar, LCSW, LMSW ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Medical Setting ◽  
Physical Damage ◽  
Medical Needs ◽  
Psychological Harm ◽  
Disaster Preparedness And Response

Introduction: The increasing prevalence of disasters worldwide highlights the need for established and universal disaster preparedness plans.The devastating events of September 11 and Hurricane Katrina have spurred the development of some disaster response systems. These systems, however, are predominantly focused on medical needs and largely overlook mental health considerations. Negative outcomes of disasters include physical damage as well as psychological harm. Mental health needs should be considered throughout the entire disaster response process, especially when caring for children, adolescents, and their families.Objective: To provide an overview and recommendations for the integration of mental health considerations into pediatric disaster preparedness and response in the medical setting.Methods: Recommendations were developed by a panel of disaster preparedness and mental health experts during the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Pediatric Disaster Resource and Training Center: Workshop on Family Reunification in Los Angeles, California, March 31-April 1, 2008. Experts discussed the inclusion of mental health-specific considerations and services at all stages of disaster preparedness and response. Recommendations involve the integration of mental health into triage and tracking, the adoption of a child ambassador model, environment, and developmentally appropriate interventions, education, communication, death notification, and family reunification.Conclusions: The inclusion of mental health concerns into pediatric disaster preparedness may help prevent further and unnecessary psychological harm to children and adolescent survivors following a disaster.

scholarly journals Children as Bellwethers of Recovery: Dysfunctional Systems and the Effects of Parents, Households, and Neighborhoods on Serious Emotional Disturbance in Children After Hurricane Katrina

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (S1) ◽  
pp. S17-S27 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Abramson ◽  
Yoon Soo Park ◽  
Tasha Stehling-Ariza ◽  
Irwin Redlener
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Emotional Disturbance ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Behavior Disorder ◽  
Family Health ◽  
Serious Emotional Disturbance ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Successful Recovery ◽  
Access To Medical Care

ABSTRACTBackground: Over 160 000 children were displaced from their homes after Hurricane Katrina. Tens of thousands of these children experienced the ongoing chaos and uncertainty of displacement and transiency, as well as significant social disruptions in their lives. The objectives of this study were to estimate the long-term mental health effects of such exposure among children, and to elucidate the systemic pathways through which the disaster effect operates.Methods: The prevalence of serious emotional disturbance was assessed among 283 school-aged children in Louisiana and Mississippi. These children are part of the Gulf Coast Child & Family Health Study, involving a longitudinal cohort of 1079 randomly sampled households in the two states, encompassing a total of 427 children, who have been interviewed in 4 annual waves of data collection since January 2006. The majority of data for this analysis was drawn from the fourth round of data.Results: Although access to medical care for children has expanded considerably since 2005 in the region affected by Hurricane Katrina, more than 37% of children have received a clinical mental health diagnosis of depression, anxiety, or behavior disorder, according to parent reports. Children exposed to Hurricane Katrina were nearly 5 times as likely as a pre-Katrina cohort to exhibit serious emotional disturbance. Path analyses confirm the roles played by neighborhood social disorder, household stressors, and parental limitations on children's emotional and behavioral functioning.Conclusions: Children and youth are particularly vulnerable to the effects of disasters. They have limited capacity to independently mobilize resources to help them adapt to stressful postdisaster circumstances, and are instead dependent upon others to make choices that will influence their household, neighborhood, school, and larger social environment. Children's mental health recovery in a postdisaster setting can serve as a bellwether indicator of successful recovery or as a lagging indicator of system dysfunction and failed recovery.(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2010;4:S17-S27)

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