Citation

Cherry KE, Su LJ, Welsh DA, Galea S, Jazwinski SM, Silva JL, Erwin MJ. J. Appl. Soc. Psychol. 2010; 40(10): 2463-2487.

Affiliation

Louisiana State University.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1559-1816.2010.00666.x

PMID

21461124

PMCID

PMC3066445

Abstract

This study examined the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on cognitive and psychosocial functioning among middle-aged (45-64 years), older (65-89 years) and oldest-old adults (90 years and over) in the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study (LHAS). Analyses of pre- and post-disaster cognitive data showed storm-related decrements in working memory for the middle-aged and older adults, but not for the oldest-old adults. Regression analyses confirmed that measures of social engagement and storm-related disruption significantly predicted pre- to post-disaster differences in short-term and working memory performance for the middle-aged and older adults only. These results are consistent with a burden perspective on post-disaster psychological reactions. Implications for current views of disaster reactions are discussed.

Language: en