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. 2016 Sep;31(Suppl 1):750-769.
doi: 10.1111/socf.12271. Epub 2016 Jun 30.

Life after Hurricane Katrina: The Resilience in Survivors of Katrina (RISK) Project

Mary C Waters  1
Affiliations

Life after Hurricane Katrina: The Resilience in Survivors of Katrina (RISK) Project

Mary C Waters. Sociol Forum (Randolph N J). 2016 Sep.

Abstract

This article presents an overview of the findings to date of the Resilience in Survivors of Katrina (RISK) Project, a longitudinal study of 1,019 young, predominantly female and African American community college students who were surveyed a year before Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and then two to three times afterward. This study combines a multidisciplinary, multimethod approach to understanding the immediate and long-term effects of the Katrina disaster on physical and mental health, economic and social functioning, and neighborhood attainment. I discuss what we can learn from the rare inclusion of predisaster data and our unusual ability to follow participants for years after the disaster. I argue that it is important to follow the recovery of individuals and communities as well as the recovery of the city, as these are often not the same, especially in Katrina where a large proportion of the city never returned.

Keywords: Hurricane Katrina; displacement; natural disaster; poverty; residential mobility; resilience.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Location of RISK Respondents 2004–2006
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Structure of the Data Collected.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abramson DM and Richard Garfield. 2006. On the Edge: Children and Families Displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Face a Looming Medical and Mental Health Crisis. New York: Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
    1. Arcaya Mariana C., Graif Corina, Waters Mary C., and Subramanian SV. 2016. “Health Selection Into Neighborhoods Among Families in the Moving to Opportunity Program.” American Journal of Epidemiology 183: 2: 130–137. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwvl89. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Arcaya Mariana C., James P, Rhodes Jean E., Waters Mary C., and Subramanian SV. 2014a. “Urban Sprawl and Body Mass Index Among Displaced Hurricane Katrina Survivors.” Preventive Medicine 65: 40–46. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.04.006. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Arcaya Mariana C., Lowe Sarah R., Rhodes Jean E., Waters Mary C., and Subramanian SV. 2014b. “Association of PTSD Symptoms With Asthma Attacks Among Hurricane Katrina Survivors.” Journal of Traumatic Stress 27: 6: 725–729. doi: 10.1002/jts.21976. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Arcaya Mariana C., Subramanian SV, Rhodes Jean, and Waters Mary C.. 2014c. “Role of Health in Predicting Moves to Poor Neighborhoods Among Hurricane Katrina Survivors.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111: 46: 16246–16253. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1416950111. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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