73 research outputs found
Imagining worse than reality: comparing beliefs and intentions between disaster evacuees and survey respondents
We often credit disasters, and their coverage in the media, with changes in the public perception of risk associated with low-probability, high-consequence events (LPHCs). With a change in perceptions, we also expect changes in beliefs, preferences, and behaviors. Do beliefs and behaviors change in different ways for people who live through these LPHC critical events, as opposed to people who observe them? This study compares hypothetical hurricanes with actual hurricane effects in a survey quasi-experiment. Findings indicate that hypothetical disasters induce stronger reactions than those experienced in the natural world, as Hurricane Katrina bystanders imagine themselves incurring much higher damages, and being much less likely to return to live in their hurricane-damaged homes, than actual Hurricane Katrina evacuees. Ultimately, respondents considering a hypothetical low-probability, high-consequence event exhibit exaggerated beliefs and opposite decisions of those who actually lived through one of these events. Results underline the importance of examining the differences between public perceptions and experiential reality
The Intersectionality of Disastersâ Effects on Trust in Public Officials
Objective
Groups defined by race and ideology are wellâknown predictors of interpersonal and political trust, but genderâbased effects are undecided. I investigate whether disaster experience conditions a difference in political trust between women and men.
Methods
Examining the hurricane data set of U.S. public opinion, I analyze intersectionality's influence on disasterâbased political trust with a threeâway interaction between race, class, and gender.
Results
Among disaster survivors, black women trust less than all other raceâgender groups, and white men trust the most. The difference between black and white women survivorsâ political trust is attenuated by education. Education exacerbates raceâbased political trust among observers. Among observers, there is not a genderâbased distinction.
Conclusion
Disasters create new identities based on shared experience, and offer a moment in time that illustrates how trust varies along genderâraceâclassâdisaster dimensions. Knowing how trust differs according to intersectionality allows managers to manage critical events better
Was There Unmet Mental Health Need After the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks?
Background This study examined the
use of professionals for mental health problems
among New York City residents who were directly
affected by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on
the World Trade Center (WTC) or had a probable
diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or
depression in its aftermath. Correlates of help seeking
from professionals for mental health problems after
the attacks and barriers to care were also assessed.
Method Data were from a random digit dial telephone
survey of 2,752 adults representative of the
Greater New York Metropolitan area conducted
6 months after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Results Fifteen percent of those directly affected and
36% of those with probable PTSD or depression
sought help from a professional for a mental health
problem after the attacks. There was little new utilization
of professionals for mental health problems
after the attacks among persons who were not already
receiving care prior to September 11. Barriers that
prevented people from seeking help for mental health
problems 6 months after the September 11 attacks
included traditional barriers to care (e.g., cost) and
barriers that are unique to the post-disaster context
(e.g., the belief that others need the services more
than oneself). Conclusions This study suggests that
there was potential unmet mental health need in New
York City 6 months after the September 11 attacks on
the WTC, but these findings should be tempered by
research showing an apparent decrease in populationrates
of PTSD. In the aftermath of a disaster, interventions
should target persons with mental health
needs who were not previously seeking help from a
professional for a mental health problem.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40299/2/Stuber_Was There Unmet Mental Health Need_2006.pd
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Web-based methods in terrorism and disaster research
This article provides an overview of the use of the Internet for conducting studies after terrorist attacks and other large-scale disasters. We begin with a brief summary of the scientific and logistical challenges of conducting such research, followed by a description of some of the most important design features that are required to produce valid findings. We then describe one approach to Internet surveys that, although not perfect, addresses many of the challenges well, We close with some thoughts about how the Internet-based methods available today are likely to develop further in coming years
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