Newswise — Three months after Hurricane Katrina ripped through southeast Louisiana, a survey of displaced and regular students at Southeastern Louisiana University shows that many continue to feel its impact psychologically, physically, and economically.
The results of the survey, conducted through Dec. 2 by David and Barbara J. Shwalb of Southeastern's Department of Psychology, are based on responses from 315 "guest" students relocated at Southeastern from 10 New Orleans area universities and 510 currently enrolled Southeastern students.
The students, who were contacted by e-mail and responded via the Internet, were asked questions related to their physical and mental health; whether they evacuated, were injured or suffered damage to their homes; the storm's impact on their finances and education; and how the tragedy affected their sense of optimism and control, life satisfaction, and faith. The survey also gathered demographic information and personal stories and opinions.
"Many are young people, just out of high school, suddenly thrust into situations far beyond what they anticipated thinking about in college," said David Shwalb. "Some displaced students may be in a tenuous psychological state, reporting severe stress, physical ailments, and memories of recent horrors. Yet pluralities of both displaced and regular students also described themselves with positive characteristics of resilience, control, and optimism."
Shwalb said the survey was based on a questionnaire first developed by displaced faculty from New Orleans working with sociology professor Duane Gill and with technical assistance from Angela Maggard of the Social Science Research Center at Mississippi State University. The Shwalbs met Gill at an Oct. 7 seminar sponsored by Southeastern and Delta State University. The seminar gathered scientists and community development practitioners interested in conducting community-based research on the effects of Katrina.
The Shwalbs adapted the survey for Southeastern's displaced and regular students and plan to present their findings at national academic conferences.
Survey results include:* Few respondents were physically injured (displaced, 5 percent; regular students, 3 percent), but many experienced serious damage (displaced, 43 percent; regular, 28 percent) or total loss of their homes (displaced, 44 percent; regular, 9 percent). Many also had either missing or deceased friends or family. Twenty-eight percent of the displaced students and 24 percent of the regular students reported missing relations or close friends; while 14 percent of the displaced students and 8 percent of the regular students had family members or friends who had died. More than half (53 percent) of displaced students lost their jobs, and 75 percent lost money because of the storm.
* While few displaced or regular students saw a physician or sought counseling specifically because of Katrina, many reported declines in general health and eating habits. One-fifth reported symptoms such as backaches, headaches, and fatigue. More displaced students than regular students reported reactions to stress, such as sleep difficulties (51 percent), anxiety (47 percent), and depression (53 percent). However, both displaced and regular students were evenly divided between seeing themselves as optimists or pessimists.
* Fifty-eight percent of the displaced students and 70 percent of regular students said faith and religion were important to them as they coped with the disaster. Although church attendance decreased in more students than increased, about one-third of all students reported an increase in prayerfulness.
* Both groups said the storm had adversely affected their academic performance. About half of the respondents said that they were less motivated and many had withdrawn from some classes since September. A greater number of displaced students (66 percent compared with 37 percent of regular students) reported increased worry about financing their education.
* On a 10-point scale, ranging from 1 ("no fear" ) to 10 ("uncontrollable fear" ), displaced students reported a mean score of 5.7 and the regular students a mean score of 5.3 at the time of the hurricane. A total of 88 percent of displaced students and 68 percent of regular students reported that they "felt stressed out."
In describing Katrina-related events, displaced students expressed more pain and continued anguish than did regular students. "Yet it was clear also that many so-called 'regular' students were also very upset by Hurricane Katrina, even though they did not have to relocate to another university," David Shwalb said.
In open-ended responses, students wrote about many "losses," including "boyfriends and girlfriends, engagements, marriages, family members dispersed around the country, homes, pets, sense of certainty, sense of control, direction in life, way of life, physical possessions, independence, stability, concentration, scholarships, extended family, income, transportation, time, love, motivation, college and the city of New Orleans."
"Stories of 'survivors guilt' were also common, and many students felt 'lucky' that they didn't lose as much as others or that their losses were just 'things,'" David Shwalb said.
In a list of "current worries at college," students cited "normal pressure," plus "dealing with losses, finances, housing, trying to balance jobs, school, and instability of life, frustration that they cannot do their best and feelings that their classmates and teachers do not understand their situation."
"College students are normally stressed," said David Shwalb. "A lot of students don't just go to college. They have jobs, families, many responsibilities, and long commutes. But you also have to realize all that they've lost, all the pressures now on them on top of the normal stress. So I am impressed with their ability to manage, that so many of them are still here and able to attend their classes."
"Our hats are off to them," said Barbara Shwalb. "Reading their stories, we really gained a new respect and admiration for all these students. They are a strong and courageous group."
The Shwalbs said they hope that analyses of students' stories and responses to open-ended question such as "Is there anything your college/university could have done differently to prepare you for Katrina?" will help formulate policy recommendations that may benefit displaced and regular students alike.
"Not much is known about how young 18-22 year olds react by either gaining strength or losing strength when they're challenged by a natural disaster," said Barbara Shwalb. "And we know that for some the end of the fall semester will not bring closure to their continuing hurt."
She said the survey's information may help put the question of how young people cope with challenges "in a bigger framework for mental health workers in future disasters."
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