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| On Tuesday, Feb. 7, LSU psychology assistant professor Thompson Davis III presented preliminary findings from the “Louisiana State University – University of Houston, or LSU-UH, Hurricane Katrina Study” at the monthly grand round meetings of clinical psychology faculty and graduate students. Davis explained that little is known at this point about how college students react to and cope with a trauma such as this, especially one as large and devastating as Hurricane Katrina. It is believed that the few initial investigations presented to date on psychopathology and coping after exposure to Hurricane Katrina have been based on informal surveys with little known about their psychometric properties, including limited or no reliability, validity or standardization. Thus, this project is believed to be the first to release preliminary results based on widely used and psychometrically sound measures. The “LSU-UH Hurricane Katrina Study” includes data from more than 1,000 undergraduate students enrolled at LSU and UH who completed a 2-3 hour online survey. In this initial part of the study, a matched sample from that group was used to compare 68 displaced New Orleans-area undergraduate students to 68 students from LSU who were enrolled prior to Katrina. Davis and co-investigator Amie Grills of the University of Houston, along with Thomas Ollendick, consultant from Virginia Tech, primarily examined symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma and stress, as well as students’ coping. Results suggested displaced students experienced significantly more symptoms of depression than their non-displaced counterparts, placing them in the “mildly” depressed range. In addition to feeling more depressed, displaced students were found to have significantly poorer coping self-efficacy compared to non-displaced students. Displaced students tended to report feeling less capable of coping/functioning following the hurricane. For example, some were feeling less capable of maintaining personal security, dealing with personal losses and getting back to a routine. No differences were found between the two groups in reported symptoms of anxiety or stress; however, both groups reported higher levels than would typically be expected. Little drinking behavior was reported and did not meaningfully differ between the groups of displaced and non-displaced students. On average, students reported having roughly 1.5 alcoholic drinks the day of the hurricane with approximately 38 percent reporting having no drinks. The findings showed that displaced students reported having experienced significantly more occurrences of traumatic events than non-displaced students by an average of roughly six to two. Examples included needing food and shelter, losing contact with or being uncertain about the welfare of loved ones, losing personal possessions and having to relocate. Moreover, displaced students experienced significantly more distress from their traumatic exposures, particularly when related to their loss of resources, damage to home or property and concern for family or others. Displaced students’ greater exposure to trauma and greater distress were also found to be significantly associated with their mild depressive symptoms. Overall, Davis and his team believe both groups of students are actually coping quite well given the extent of Katrina’s influence and damage. They suspect, however, that these college students are also likely to be more resilient than most displaced individuals affected by Katrina. For example, they presumably had the benefit of transitioning into a supportive collegiate environment and were also coping well enough initially to move and seek re-enrollment. Even so, these two groups do provide for an interesting investigation of relevant psychological variables separate from community samples. It is expected that trauma-exposed individuals in the community are still coping and adjusting to ongoing environmental and psychological stressors and continuing traumatic events, such as finding a home and/or job. As a result, this sample of students provides a unique glimpse into post-trauma effect in what may be considered one of many “best case” recovery/response scenarios. Davis said that though this may be the case, it is also unfortunate to learn that significant depressive symptoms and coping impairments remain despite displaced students having found an environment and resources similar to those they enjoyed before the trauma. Numerous future investigations with the data are planned to further expand on these questions, including comparisons involving UH students as well as following up with the matched sample over time. In addition, the investigators anticipate being able to make comparisons between the effects of Hurricane Katrina and other hurricane disasters to have hit the United States in recent years. Davis is an assistant professor of clinical psychology in the Department of Psychology at LSU and director of the newly formed Laboratory for Anxiety, Phobia and Internalizing Disorder Studies, or LAPIS. In addition, he serves as co-supervisor of child and adolescent services at the Psychological Services Center at LSU, where he and his team treat anxiety and phobic disorders in children, adolescents and young adults from the Baton Rouge area. Grills is an assistant professor of clinical psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Houston and leader of the Anxiety Disorders Special Interest Group of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. For more information, contact Davis at 225-578-1500 or ted@lsu.edu. -30- |
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