Abstract
The authors examined the effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on cognitive and psychosocial functioning in a lifespan sample of adults 6-14 months after the storms. Participants were recruited from the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study. Most were assessed during the immediate impact period and retested for this study. Analyses of pre- and post-disaster cognitive data confirmed that storm-related decrements in working memory for middle-aged and older adults observed in the immediate impact period had returned to pre-hurricane levels in the post-disaster recovery period. Middle-aged adults reported more storm-related stressors and greater levels of stress than the two older groups at both waves of testing. These results are consistent with a burden perspective on post-disaster psychological reactions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 187-211 |
| Number of pages | 25 |
| Journal | Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 3-4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2011 |