LHAS Hurricane Study
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the southern United States Gulf Coast region which includes (west to east) Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Community destruction and loss of life was considerable with an estimated 1,800 deaths reported in the immediate aftermath of the storm and over $125 billion dollars in damages. Baton Rouge, LA received an estimated 200,000 + evacuees from storm-ravaged areas, resulting in significant disruptions in daily living for all. Most participants in this study experienced catastrophic losses and a lengthy displacement as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (HKR) in 2005. Other individuals with storm-related disruption but minor to no property damage were included as an indirectly affected control group.
Many thanks to all those who participated!
At this time, data scoring and analyses are in progress. Some of our earlier work from the first two years after the storm are listed below.
Cherry, K. E. Natural disasters from a life span developmental perspective: An introduction. In K. E. Cherry (ed.) Lifespan Perspectives on Natural Disasters: Coping with Katrina, Rita, and Other Storms. Springer: New York.
Cherry, K. E., Galea, S., Su, L. J., Welsh, D. A., Jazwinski, S. M., Silva, J. L. & Erwin, M. J. (2010). Cognitive and psychosocial consequences on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita among middle-aged, older, and oldest old adults in the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study (LHAS). Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40(10), 2464-2487.
Tausch, C., Marks, L. D., Silva Brown, J., Cherry, K. E., Frias, T., McWilliams, Z., Melancon, M. & Sasser, D. D. (2011). Religion and coping with trauma: Qualitative examples from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Journal of Religion, Spirituality& Aging, 23, 236-253.
Cherry, K. E., Silva Brown, J., Marks, L. D., Galea, S., Volaufova, J., Lefante, C., Su, L. J. Welsh, D. A. & Jazwinski, S. M. (2012). Longitudinal assessment of cognitive and psychosocial functioning after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Exploring disaster impact on middle-aged, older, and oldest-old adults. Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research, 16, 187-211.