title: The association between disaster-related experiences and mental health outcomes among drug using African American Hurricane Katrina evacuees.
abstract: This article provides a detailed examination of the relationship between disaster-related experiences and mental health outcomes among a sample of drug using African American Hurricane Katrina evacuees. Face-to-face structured interviews were administered to Hurricane Katrina evacuees (n = 350) residing in voucher assisted apartment complexes in Houston, Texas (2006-2007). We use Ordinary Least Squares and logistic regression models to examine both the relevance of disaster-related experiences and the interactive relationships between disaster-related experiences and post-disaster mental health outcomes including psychological distress, severe depression, somatic symptoms, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Results indicate that disaster-related experiences including negative life changes, disaster exposure, post-disaster stressors, and resource loss, have unique, inverse relationships with mental health. While resource loss has the strongest inverse relationship with mental health, disaster exposure has a negative interactive effect on psychological distress and anxiety. Although highly vulnerable populations report low levels of mental health nearly 2 years following a disaster experience, there is a convergence in mental health outcomes with high levels of disaster experiences and disaster exposure that suggests mental resiliency.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Houston, TX 77204-3012, USA.
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cepeda
authors.forename: Jarron M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Saint Onge
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: Avelardo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valdez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008016:Life Change Events; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult